Help Save my 22-Year-Old niece, Melaina, save her Leg After Devastating Crash.
Four days after celebrating her 22nd birthday, Melaina Gargano, a recent graduate of Ward Melville High School and now a student in Arizona was the passenger in a horrific car accident caused by a drunk driver on February 25, 2026.
In an instant, her life changed forever.
Melaina is currently hospitalized in Arizona, where doctors are strongly recommending amputation of her right leg due to the extreme complexity of her injuries and their lack of expertise in repairing this type of traumatic injury. However, a highly specialized Limb Salvage Center in Pennsylvania has evaluated her case and is confident they can save her leg.
Time is critical as her injuries are catastrophic:
-3 inches of her tibia are missing
-A compound fracture to her fibula
-Most skin and muscle on her lower leg and foot are severely damaged.
-Diagnosed with drop foot
-Only 2 of her 3 major leg veins are functioning, and one is at risk of failing
She has already endured 4 surgeries and is expected to require 15+ more but this next surgery is critical. The Pennsylvania facility has the combined orthopedic, plastic, and vascular surgical expertise needed for this level of trauma, resources the current hospital does not have.
Unfortunately, her insurance has already denied Medical air transport and coverage for the specialized limb-salvage surgery. We are appealing the decision, but the appeals process takes time and Melaina does not have time to wait.
Our immediate goal is to raise funds for:
-Emergency medical air transportation to Pennsylvania (approximately $60,000)
-Her initial critical limb-saving surgery (approximately $200,000)
-Total direct medical costs over 1–2 years: (will exceed $350,000)
-Her mother Victoria is managing the funds to pay for any medical transport and surgeries.
Her immediate family, who have traveled from New York to be with her in Arizona, haven’t left her side and are currently unable to work while supporting her through this crisis. Melaina has a kind and loving soul, a playful spirit, and a joy for life that lights up every room she enters. She loves to dance, sing, and effortlessly lift the spirits of those around her with laughter and warmth. She is a truly beautiful person inside and out, and she deserves every chance to regain her independence and walk again.
If you are able, please donate and share this page with friends, colleagues, community groups, local news, blogs, schools, churches and organizations. Every share increases her chance of keeping her leg, Melaina and the many that love her will be forever grateful.