Update: thank you all! This fundraiser is now closed and this page will come down after all final transfers have processed. Much love to everyone who has donated.

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Returning from an early evening walk at Highland Park in late March 2024, Ayesha was hit by a car while crossing the cross-walk at the Jackie Robinson Parkway and Cypress Hills Street. The driver fled the scene, leaving her with a life-threatening traumatic epidural hematoma, a traumatic brain injury (TBI), mastoid and occipital skull fractures, a foot fracture, serious injury-related complications and cognitive challenges. Ayesha was admitted to Elmhurst Hospital's Neurosurgery department for over a week and left with thousands of dollars of medical debt -- a sizable burden for her to carry while recovering from her injuries. The NYPD were called but no officers showed up to the scene of the accident. One week after the accident, the NYPD finally produced a police report that did absolutely nothing to shed light on the situation. Tragically there was also no CCTV footage available at that intersection.

After several months of recovery, Ayesha is now navigating both the legal and medical systems to address the major costs of her accident. Ayesha's hospital bill was initially $80,000, and her extent of coverage is currently uncertain as she deals with both her insurance and NY state. Ayesha has also had very few legal options as a hit and run victim; with a lot of difficulty she finally hired a personal injury lawyer to file a claim with NY state. The settlement covered a quarter of her expenses and a third of it went to her lawyer. Moreover, the settlement could not capture the loss of income from cancelling two tours and several shows and festivals (she was actually headed on tour the week she was struck).

On top of medical expenses, there are other adjacent costs... Ayesha has had to mostly pay out of pocket for certain medications, medical equipment, outpatient appointments, hospital rides, and physical therapy. Furthermore, her brain damage significantly distorted her sense of smell and taste (Parosmia, Dysosmia). She is likely to incur more costs as she seeks specialist help for this new challenge to her wellbeing.

Ayesha's funding goal was initially set at $5,000 -- with the intention of raising it *only* if the community was able to meet it. Due to your overwhelming support, we are eternally grateful to now raise the goal to $10,000. We're honestly not sure if we'll meet this higher funding goal, but any support will help her get closer to covering all expenses.

As mentioned, the dust is still settling around the coverage of Ayesha's expenses - this can take a while. If and when all costs stabilize, Ayesha will donate any excess funds to Vision Zero Network, an organization working to end pedestrian deaths.

Thank you for your support! Please be safe.