Damian Tomsett

********* UPDATE **********

As stated in the original post, Damian was released from the hospital with the.condition that he requires 24/7 care. His mother has worked for the Dept of Communiy Services for many years, she went to her employer and explained the situation and put in her request for the time off to care for her.son. I recently found out that her.leave request was DENIED .

Their complete lack of humanity and lack compassion means that this "accident" has not only caused financial hardship for Damian but also for his.mother who had no choice but to take unpaid leave of absence to care for him.

On March 21 at 12:30 PM Damian, (DJ) was Crossing Gottingen Street at a marked crosswalk, he was struck in the crosswalk by an elderly man in his SUV. There was news coverage of this accident, but what the news did not report was that not only was Damian struck by an elderly man, he was hit and then drug under his SUV for approximately 50 feet. It wasn’t until pedestrians in the area noticed that someone was under this SUV that they ran out into the street to stop the man from driving any further, as the man did not know he hit someone nor did he know that anyone was stuck under his vehicle as he continued to drive. They pulled Damian from under the SUV and called 911 immediately.

DJ is a 29-year-old man who is deaf and blind. He has some sight in some areas of his vision, and he relies heavily on his cochlear implant to help him navigate the world. He works two jobs to make ends meet and enjoys his time off with his family and 16 month old niece. He has been living independently in his own place for many years, DJ has many injuries that will take months to recover from. He has moderate traumatic brain injury, as well as multiple skull fractures, multiple brain bleeds, facial nerve paralysis, sciatic nerve pain in his back, hips and legs and his cochlear implant was destroyed. He has memory issues and multiple deep cuts, and lacerations.

Due to the fact that his cochlear implant was destroyed, he spent the first week in the hospital with no idea of what was happening. There was no way to communicate with him as his sight was very limited. To communicate to Doctors and his mom they used tactile communication meaning they would tap his hand once for yes and two times for no. Damian can speak but could not hear at all.

He was released from the hospital after 11 days. He is currently unable to be on his own so he is staying with his mom and requires 24/7 care. He requires a walker to get around because he is very unsteady. His mother was able to get him a loaner cochlear implant so he is now able to communicate. Because Damian needs to stay with his mother and have 24/7 care he is unable to return to home at this point. Damian has been living at the same residence for 10 years, his apartment is laid out for him so he knows where everything is by muscle memory. And because he’s been there for 10 years, he is paying an affordable rent, but at this time with not being able to work for the foreseeable future (Doctors are saying minimum of 6 moths) he is looking to raise funds to cover his power and his apartment cost while he’s not able to work.