Hello, my name is Clarissa. I’m 27, and I used to be a para-educator. June 17 was a day that forever changed my life. I had a seizure and lost control of my car, sending me down a 200-foot cliff. Thankfully, I was able to be rescued in time and had multiple surgeries: lacerated spleen and liver, broken ribs, fractured both my shoulder blades, and broke 17 vertebrae, completely breaking my thoracic spine. I was in PT and was finally starting to feel what my new normal was going to be. But earlier last month, I was diagnosed with avascular necrosis in my hip, essentially a dead bone. I will be needing a total hip replacement.

With another accident and still not being able to go back to work and still waiting on disability, things are getting tight for me.