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Beth's Wreck Spine Injury Recovery

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Thank you for coming to my GoFundMe page where you can read about my recent unfortunate accident.  


I am Elizabeth 'Beth' Wayne Gattshall Hawkins, born and raised in Sumter, SC, sister of Judy, Patti and Sally and daughter of  Irene and Wayne Gattshall.

I moved to Pawleys Island, SC as an interior designer in 1978 with Island Interiors after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Interior Design. Many of you know me from Edmunds High in Sumter, SC my home town, as well as USC in Columbia where I graduated in 1972, Spartanburg and Charleston where I have also lived.

I tried to avoid doing this GoFundMe but I am struggling and need money now to pay my daily expenses, not in a year when my case is settled. Denial was not getting my finacial obligations paid, so here I am asking for your immediate help.

I was t-boned on 2-6-16 while driving for Uber, by a 21 year old driver going the wrong way down Coming Street at 4:00 AM in Charleston, SC.  My car was totaled due to the extent of the bent frame, broken and bent axle. and interior damage.  The deployed side airbags, my seat belt and the strong frame of this Ford Flex protected me from cuts and lacerations but my lower spine, shoulder, neck and arm have severe nerve and muscle trauma and misalignment problems, leaving me 70% disabled at this time from the whip lash.

Until I am well and off of muscle relaxers and able to drive for Uber again, I can not afford to replace my car and make the payments. I am thankful that I still am able to walk short distances to places I need to go.


The other driver's car looks pretty bad also.
He admitted guilt and was at fault incidently,  as he was going the wrong way down Coming Street and t-boned me as I was going through the green light at the intersection of Calhoun Street and Coming.


Just a few, short months ago I was renovating and painting the exterior of my house and was able to climb ladders 25' in the air.


Because of the wreck I am not able to drive for Uber, do anymore renovations, mow my yard, do housework, clean or finish the interior  and exterior renovations until my injuries heal or improve significantly.


I was a very strong, active full time caregiver for my husband Clif and mother Irene Baxter before they passed on in 2013 and 2014 eight months apart.



I am also the author and Kindle publisher of the Clifton notes on Downtown Abbey.  Eliza John-Hawkins is my pen name. Even though I only make a few dollars a month from this, it was fun to publish and I hope to finish the series in the near future.


I think I have always had a smile on my face since I was born in 1950 in Sumter, SC.  I love living and love to make others smile.


As recently as December 2015 I was climbing ladders and decorating my church for Christmas at
'The Abbey' in the former Litchfield Plantation Carriage House in Pawleys Island, SC.


I became a Uber driver in September 2015 with a goal and a purpose. That being, to make money and to keep the roads as safe as possible by being available to drive people who had been drinking, safely to their destinations. My husband's daughter Brooke had been killed at age 39 in a DUI accident and I had experienced the tragic devastation such  accidents bring to the family and friends. I was able to support myself by making good money and tips, as well as offering a fun riding experience in my decorated car for my passengers at Halloween and Christmas as well as many, many other days and nights since September in Myrtle Beach, Columbia and Charleston.



Uber is a private transportation ride hailing app on smart phones and is usually less expensive than a taxi and much faster and easier to obtain.

Code CWEAQR72UE will even give you up to a $20 discount on your first Uber ride if you enter it as your promo code  when downloading the app on your smart phone and I even get paid a $5 fee for every signup using that code..



My life was active to say the least and my most favorite recent pastime was dancing the 'shag' at many of the Myrtle Beach - Grand Strand shag clubs along the South Carolina coastline.


Being the creative artist that I am, I even designed my Indian Princess Halloween costume that I even wore while driving for Uber on Halloween night 2015.


Medicare was a welcomed addition to my life in 2015 when I turned 65 and is helping with some of my current medical bills. Even though the other driver is at fault, it may take months to rehabilitate me back to my 100%  useful employable self.  

Settling the claim for my loss wages, personal injuries, vehicle property loss and medical expenses could take many, many months perhaps even a year and in the mean time I need help in the way of a loan to continue paying my mortgage, electricity, and other living expenses. I am not able to drive due to the disability and muscle relaxers I am taking but thanks to God for the place I live, I am able to walk a short distance to the physical therapy location. Many wonderful friends are transporting me to church and other places.

I am trying to raise money to support myself in several ways in addition to this GoFundMe campaign. I am registering and shipping off to my Azonshoppe at Amazon many great and and collectible  books and merchandise. Here is the link to my Amazon Storefront where I will be adding hundreds of books and things from my home over the next months. I hope that you are extremely satisfied with your purchases from my Azonshoppe Store  and will consider leaving a review about your Amazon experience when you purchase an item.  This helps tremendously to promote my sales to others who are considering buying things from my store which can be found at: 

http://amzn.to/1RzJcre 

or

http://Azonshoppe.com

I want to be able to pay back all the money funded to me in order for you to use it again to give another individual a helping hand up in their time of need. In the mean time I would be deeply grateful if you could make a donation  of any size to my GoFundMe campaign in order for me to get back on my feet again and get out from under the stress and depression I am presently experiencing. Please leave your name and address  or paypal information so that I can repay the money back to you, hopefully plus some interest.

I am also a Realtor and you can help me finacially by using me as a referral agent when you are buying or selling.  Your agent will pay me a referral fee from their commission when your property closes. Email me, message me on Facebook http://facebook.com/bethhawkinsdotcom or text me at [phone redacted] for information about how you can use me as your referring agent to the agent of your choice.

In the mean time, please, please, please don't drink and drive drunk but call an Uber, Lyft or taxi instead. I give all the glory to God for sparing my life when this wreck happened on Feb. 6, 2016. It was very fortunate that I did not have any Uber passengers in my car at the time of the accident.  I had just dropped some of them off on John's Island in Charleston and was returning to downtown Charleston to await my next ping from a rider. Those were some of the responsible people that chose to Uber instead of drive under the influence of alcohol. Please also pray that I will be totally healed and able to live a life without any disability, pain or limitations.

Having to ask for money is a very humbling experience, but you can not imagine how much each referral, donation whether large or small will help me survive in this chapter of my life.  It means so much to me that you are willing to give me a helping hand up. I thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart for any funds you can spare to cover my living expenses for the next year or however long it takes for my case to be settled. Whether you buy from my Azonshoppe, give a donation to my GoFundMe or download the Uber app and use my code CWEAQR72UE, by the way which pays me $5 but gives you a $20 discount, I will be forever grateful.

I have survived many  traumatic events in my life including the untimely death of my father at age 9, a house fire, Hurricane Hugo, divorce, breast cancer, death of my spouse Clif and now this wreck.  'Amazing Grace' reminds me that until I am called home to be with Him, He has a purpose for saving my life and using this 'wretch like me'! God Bless each and every one of you who pray for me and help me walk out this chapter of my life. May it all be to the Glory Of God! Your financial help means the world to me.

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Donations 

  • Shamsa Khan
    • $250
    • 8 yrs
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Organizer

Beth Gattshall Hawkins
Organizer
Pawleys Island, SC

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