Hello friends! As many of you know, my husband Leo was badly injured during a fall while we were hiking between River Bend and Great Falls parks. His ankle was broken and completely dislocated. X-rays showed that he'd suffered a trimalleolar fracture. This is a nasty way to break your ankle, and requires surgical repair along with 6-12 weeks of recovery followed by at least 6 months of physical therapy.


We have been hiking these trails avidly for years, and especially since the onset of Covid-19. When the pandemic began, Leo's salon was shut down for nearly 3 months and my contract with Palantir was terminated soon after their offices were closed. During that time we stayed fit and sane by spending every available day enjoying the extensive hiking trails in and around Great Falls. We are both devastated that something traumatic happened in a place that brought us both peace and tranquility when we needed it most.


We are so grateful to the wonderful men and women who were involved in Leo's rescue and medical care. Fairfax County Fire and EMS were my heroes that day, as the accident happened miles from road access and required evacuation along the river by boat! The wonderful emergency team at Reston Hospital stabilized Leo's ankle and were so kind and professional. And Dr. Coleman and his team and OrthoVirginia who performed a challenging surgical procedure and will be working with us during the rehabilitation phase.


And now we're asking for your help. Due to the financial strain that Covid-19 has had on both of our finances, Leo was uninsured at the time of the accident. Fortunately, he was able to get coverage before surgery, however we are still facing extremely large ongoing medical costs. I have been unemployed for nearly a year now, and while Leo's salon did eventually reopen, they have been operating at restricted capacity for health and safety reasons which has reduced his income by over 60%. We simply don't have the ability to handle the healthcare costs associated with his injury right now, and we're turning to our friends in hopes that we can get Leo back on his feet and back to work as quickly as possible. 


Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, and we love you all so much!

Tara and Leo