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***Wednesday December 18 Update #9***

The first three days of Samantha returning home was a bit bumpy. Intolerable pain, miscommunication from the Doc to the pharmacy and then back to us resulted in Samantha taking a lower dose of her pain meds (which was NOT the prescribed dosage to manage her pain), frustration realizing she is confined to the first floor and now reliant upon everyone around her made the arrival home a bit stressful.

On Tuesday we met with her Orthopedic Surgeon who removed all of her staples and sutures and removed her 300lb cast! Her ankle, which sustained the most trauma, can finally breathe. All of her injuries are healing nicely and the doc showed us XRays of all of her injuries and said if you HAD to break bones then she broke them all in the best, most fixable way possible

Wednesday we met with the Neurological Therapist. After her assessment we all agreed Samantha’s brain functions are not of any concern and her brain itself is doing just fine. The specialist suggested it was not necessary to continue with neurological therapy and switch to strictly orthopedic therapy. So that’s the plan! She will now be going to therapy in office 2x weekly focusing on her right ankle moving her toes, bending her ankle, and trying to get that full range of motion back. Once her range of motion is nearly back to normal then we can move forward with the teaching those muscles how to move when walking again!

***Saturday December 14 Update #8***

After 17 days in the Trauma Unit, several days at an in-patient rehabilitation center, in total 28 long days have passed since Samantha has stepped foot in her own home. But today is the Day!!!! We are breaking her out of rehab to return to the comfort of her own home and to be surrounded by her family!

She is still non weight bearing on her right leg, and making good progress with learning how to get around with just using her left leg. The right ankle is wrapped in a cast that looked like it weighs 300lbs but I’m sure is offering good protection to the delicate wounds beneath it. Y’all, our girl is FINALLY coming home!!!

***Thursday December 5th Update #7***

After 18 days in the Trauma Unit Samantha was finally released and transferred to a rehab facility! She is able to each REAL soft foods again, opposed to the liquid diet she was on for almost 2 weeks. She is still non-weight bearing on her right leg but she has been able to transfer herself to a wheelchair and been taking 3-5 steps at a time with a walker! We are moving in the right direction!! If she keeps up this hard work and her body agrees to keep healing she may even be able to be home for Christmas!!! That would be the BEST Christmas present ever!!!

Keep going girlfriend! We are all cheering for you!!

***Friday November 29 Update #6***

Samanthas ankle reconstruction surgery on Monday was successful. While it was a very lengthy surgery the doctor said all went well and as planned. She is now eating much better, still trying to steer clear of anything too hard or crunchy but she’s making progress in that area as well. There has been discussions of her getting moved to a rehab center soon and able to leave the hospital. We are still unsure if this is going to happen or what kind of timeline we are looking at before she is able to return home. Samantha also stood for the first time since the accident two days ago! While she was only able to stand for about 3 seconds, 3 seconds is better than not at all!

***Sunday November 24 Update #5***

Samantha was in really good spirits today! Her surgery is tomorrow, Monday, scheduled for the morning for her ankle reconstruction. The doctors have had her ankle in a halo since the accident hoping the swelling will go down enough to repair her ankle. Her blood count is also low and they have talked about her possibly needing a blood transfusion before the surgery. Luckily, she is only missing ONE tooth from the accident as opposed to several teeth which we had originally thought. Her upper jaw is confirmed fractured so they have put in place a metal bracket to hold her jaw in place until it is healed. This metal bracket looks similar to braces except it is attached to her gums instead of her teeth. The poor girl is covered in so many bruises and many we can’t explain. Keep her in your thoughts tomorrow as she will undergo her fifth surgery in just 8 days.

**Tuesday November 19 Update #4**

Samantha’s hip surgery went well! She still has several surgeries but waiting to hear when those will be scheduled. We shared her story with ABC 6 and her story was aired and you can also find her story on their website. She is talking pretty well and can hold good conversations when she’s not super tired. Seeing her awake and talking the way she has been has given myself, my family, her friends, and everyone else who has seen her hope. She still has a long road before she starts to see any sort of normalcy in her life again but we have hope.

**Sunday November 17 update as of 11pm**

Update #3

Samantha was able to rest all day today. She was awake, alert, and talking very well considering the circumstances. It was so great to see her cleaned up and talking. Her pain was still very much there but the amazing doctors and nurses have been doing their best to manage it.

She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 6:30am for her hip/pelvic fracture. All should go as planned.

*UPDATE #2 as of 7pm on November 16*

Samantha went back this afternoon for a series of surgeries. She just came out of surgery around 7pm and Doc said all went well and as planned. The floor she was moved to stops all visitors after 8pm. Please remember this if you are wanting to go visit. I would suggest if you are wanting to go visit, please give her a few days so her body can rest from these surgeries. She needs the quiet time to heal. But she will heal. ❤️

*UPDATE #1 as of 9:30am on November 16.*

The accident was a chain reaction caused by a confirmed drunk driver with no license. His carelessness to get behind the wheel intoxicated has now flipped two families lives upside down while this man walked away without a scratch.

Samantha is thought to have gotten the worst injuries from the entire crash. She had a broken jaw, missing teeth, a broken hip socket, a fractured femur, a complex open fracture to her ankle and the other ankle is suspected to be broken as well. She also has several cuts and many bruises. Like I said before, she’s got a very long and hard road to recovery ahead of her. Today starts some of her many surgeries. They have been keeping her sedated to manage her pain as obviously she is in a lot of it! I will try my best to update this platform as well as my personal Facebook Page if anyone would like to stay in the loop you now know how to do so. I know Samantha has MANY people who love and care for her. I cannot thank each and every one of you already who has shared her story and/or made a donation. The outpouring of love and support that is already being shown gives me light during this dark time. As always, keep Samantha and her family in your thoughts and prayers. ❤️

*Original Story*

Hello, my name is Haley and I am Samantha’s sister. I am creating this GoFundMe to try and take some financial stress off of her and her family during what is supposed to be a “magical time” of the holiday season. Instead of focusing on the magic, my sister and her family will be focusing on her recovery after a suspected intoxicated driver almost took her life.

On November 15 at 8:02pm, my Life360 app alerted me that there was sudden braking detected on Samantha’s phone, possibly from a collision. At first, I thought nothing of it, but a few seconds went by and I thought, I’ll call just to put my mind at ease. No answer. I check her location and it shows she is in the median of the highway in Columbus. A few moments go by and I check her location again, still in the same spot. I call again because now my mind fears the worst and a man answers and instantly says, “Hi, I’m so and so and your sister has been in a serious accident. The ambulance is not here yet, but her car is on fire and myself and some bystanders just dragged her unconscious body out of the wreckage. She is awake now but it is BAD.” I could hear her in the background and the fear in her voice is something that I will never forget. Something I never want to hear from a loved one again. She was saying she couldn’t feel her legs so I instantly thought to myself, “Oh my god, my sister is paralyzed.” (Luckily that is not the case) I made it to the hospital she was transported to and had to wait for what felt like forever to go back and see her. When I finally was able to see her, she was still covered in blood, missing teeth, and bandaged from head to toe but ALIVE! Thank God and thank God for the bystanders that quickly jumped in and saved my sister's life from her burning car!

After speaking with some bystanders of the accident, a man who is suspected of being under the influence was traveling northbound and rear-ended an SUV also traveling northbound and sent that SUV across the median and into southbound traffic. My sister was traveling southbound and took the hit full force. A force so incredibly hard it knocked the entire motor out of her vehicle and pinned her legs under the dash while her car and the other car instantly burst into flames.

Now at the hospital, she is being treated for several seriously broken bones, two broken legs, severe lacerations to her mouth, and broken teeth. Her body is pretty beat up, but she is alive!

There is never a “good time” to have something crazy like this happen, and with the holiday season coming up, it makes things even more difficult. I want to try and help Samantha, her amazing boyfriend Steve, and her two children with these financial burdens during what is supposed to be a magical time of the year. She will likely be in the hospital and then rehab for quite some time. Samantha was working two jobs, which obviously will be put on hold for quite some time. Her boyfriend of over 12 years will now feel all of the financial stress to not only provide for the basic bills but also all of these hefty hospital bills that will soon be flooding their mailbox.

Steve is a hardworking man and knows how to take care of his family no matter what but now, they could use an extra hand. They need to focus on accommodating Samantha when she is able to return home, not these medical bills. Every dollar counts. If anyone deserves it, she deserves the help. My sister is one of the most compassionate people, always smiling, and almost lost her life due to someone’s negligence while behind the wheel. If you can find it in your heart to even donate $10, $5, or even $1, every dollar will help them focus on her healing journey and road to recovery instead of struggling to keep the heat and the lights on.