Gracie’s Vet Bills and Other Medical Expenses
Donation protected
I have reserved the space to not go into too much detail initially, but I was involved in a very serious motor vehicle accident on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - just a week before Christmas.
While running a few errands for friend and in prep for the holiday, I got on I-84 near my house. I had my trusty co-pilot, Gracie, by my side in the passengers seat.
We had hust got on on the highway about two miles previously and were only in the right lane.
Without any foresight, a semi-truck came speeding out of the left lane to illegally pass the another semi truck she had been impatiently tailgating. The careless and reckless driver slammed into the back of my pick-up truck.
The impact lifted the back of my truck up off the ground and sent my truck bouncing around the highway. The bed of my truck and chassis were snapped in half upon impact from
the speeding semi-truck.
As my truck bounced around in my lane, I fought to hold onto the steering wheel as the other un-involved semi truck was still at my left and pulling away from us. I awoke to my car disabled and sideways in the right hand shoulder.
From the initial impact my body violently flew up to the roof of the truck where I hit my head and snapped my back. My body crashed down onto the steering wheel impacting my torso at my chest and upper stomach. My body then slammed back into my seat with my head still fallen back.
In the seat next to me to me, I caught out the corner of my eye Gracie being thrown from her seat up into the dashboard where it meets the windshield. She then slammed back into the edge of her seat and onto the floorboard.
The semi-truck driver continued to drive away. They only stopped because a witness who was coincidenally driving a service truck for a tow company followed them and grabbed their attention.
The semi-truck driver attempted to claim I cut him off. The wonderful witness that stopped set that story straight and took the time out of his day to make sure we all were ok and to provide a statement.
The seni-truck driver stands behind claims that they never saw me.
I spent the first 96 hours post accident in pain and being torn and spread thin. I had been in and out of the emergency room three times to get a grasp of what was wrong with my back, neck, head as well as less severe injuries. In between visits to the Emergency Room I was at the emergency vet clinic three times for Gracie to figure out how this accident impacted her and why she was expressing the symptoms she was.
Gracie spent nights crying in pain all. She climbed on me to wake me and ask for help. She doesn’t like to leave my side. She still pulls away from people. She had been vomiting around the clock and even using the bathroom in the house. When she lays across my lap I watch as every breath brings her discomfort. At rest, I watch as she tenses up and shivers from such pain.
At one point, I was admitted to Yale-New Haven for 24 hour neurosurgeon surveillance and to reach a good regimen for pain management to get through the holiday while doctors are all out of office.
It broke my heart for Gracie to suffer and hurt, but broke my heart even more to have her be separated from me. I know that for that time she was in the best of care. I received text and photo updates about her and inquiries about my care. Dr Nanavati drove to me to come pick Gracie up and take her to be boarded and monitored. All of her medicine and food were administered as the emergency vet had prescrobed. It warmed my heart when I received a photo of a dog bed they placed in the kennel for Gracie.
When I was released from the hospital, Dr Nanavati came and met us (again, after hours and hours leaving his family commitment) to return Gracie. I cannot thank the staff at Ansonia Animal Hospital enough for the care and compassion they provide — especially in this horrible time.
Gracie has always been a good girl and has always been at my side. She barley made a peep the first day of the accident while I was in the ER. Gracie is my best friend and the best dog anyone could ever ask for.
It infuriates me that someone can be in such a rush, be so inconsiderate or have no regard for the law or others safety. This reckless driver could have cost myself, my dog, or anyone else their lives
I have had many people reach out about insurance/lawsuit but a situation like this will not cover vet expenses up front or maybe even down the road. Also, for the time being any out of pocket medical bills on my part will just get filed through the claim and go through the proper due process. While it frustrates me, and I feel like I am not being understood or treated with compassion, I have to find understanding in seeing that this is how processes of the sort go
For Gracie and for myself, absolutely anything will help.
I also want to promise that any funds that happen to exceed bills we incur, or bills we might get reimbursed for through any litigation, will be made as donation to the Ansonia Animal Hospital and Yale-New Haven’s Emergency Department for the Neurosurgery Team.
While running a few errands for friend and in prep for the holiday, I got on I-84 near my house. I had my trusty co-pilot, Gracie, by my side in the passengers seat.
We had hust got on on the highway about two miles previously and were only in the right lane.
Without any foresight, a semi-truck came speeding out of the left lane to illegally pass the another semi truck she had been impatiently tailgating. The careless and reckless driver slammed into the back of my pick-up truck.
The impact lifted the back of my truck up off the ground and sent my truck bouncing around the highway. The bed of my truck and chassis were snapped in half upon impact from
the speeding semi-truck.
As my truck bounced around in my lane, I fought to hold onto the steering wheel as the other un-involved semi truck was still at my left and pulling away from us. I awoke to my car disabled and sideways in the right hand shoulder.
From the initial impact my body violently flew up to the roof of the truck where I hit my head and snapped my back. My body crashed down onto the steering wheel impacting my torso at my chest and upper stomach. My body then slammed back into my seat with my head still fallen back.
In the seat next to me to me, I caught out the corner of my eye Gracie being thrown from her seat up into the dashboard where it meets the windshield. She then slammed back into the edge of her seat and onto the floorboard.
The semi-truck driver continued to drive away. They only stopped because a witness who was coincidenally driving a service truck for a tow company followed them and grabbed their attention.
The semi-truck driver attempted to claim I cut him off. The wonderful witness that stopped set that story straight and took the time out of his day to make sure we all were ok and to provide a statement.
The seni-truck driver stands behind claims that they never saw me.
I spent the first 96 hours post accident in pain and being torn and spread thin. I had been in and out of the emergency room three times to get a grasp of what was wrong with my back, neck, head as well as less severe injuries. In between visits to the Emergency Room I was at the emergency vet clinic three times for Gracie to figure out how this accident impacted her and why she was expressing the symptoms she was.
Gracie spent nights crying in pain all. She climbed on me to wake me and ask for help. She doesn’t like to leave my side. She still pulls away from people. She had been vomiting around the clock and even using the bathroom in the house. When she lays across my lap I watch as every breath brings her discomfort. At rest, I watch as she tenses up and shivers from such pain.
At one point, I was admitted to Yale-New Haven for 24 hour neurosurgeon surveillance and to reach a good regimen for pain management to get through the holiday while doctors are all out of office.
It broke my heart for Gracie to suffer and hurt, but broke my heart even more to have her be separated from me. I know that for that time she was in the best of care. I received text and photo updates about her and inquiries about my care. Dr Nanavati drove to me to come pick Gracie up and take her to be boarded and monitored. All of her medicine and food were administered as the emergency vet had prescrobed. It warmed my heart when I received a photo of a dog bed they placed in the kennel for Gracie.
When I was released from the hospital, Dr Nanavati came and met us (again, after hours and hours leaving his family commitment) to return Gracie. I cannot thank the staff at Ansonia Animal Hospital enough for the care and compassion they provide — especially in this horrible time.
Gracie has always been a good girl and has always been at my side. She barley made a peep the first day of the accident while I was in the ER. Gracie is my best friend and the best dog anyone could ever ask for.
It infuriates me that someone can be in such a rush, be so inconsiderate or have no regard for the law or others safety. This reckless driver could have cost myself, my dog, or anyone else their lives
I have had many people reach out about insurance/lawsuit but a situation like this will not cover vet expenses up front or maybe even down the road. Also, for the time being any out of pocket medical bills on my part will just get filed through the claim and go through the proper due process. While it frustrates me, and I feel like I am not being understood or treated with compassion, I have to find understanding in seeing that this is how processes of the sort go
For Gracie and for myself, absolutely anything will help.
I also want to promise that any funds that happen to exceed bills we incur, or bills we might get reimbursed for through any litigation, will be made as donation to the Ansonia Animal Hospital and Yale-New Haven’s Emergency Department for the Neurosurgery Team.
Organizer
Meaghan Frank
Organizer
Danbury, CT