Help Jessie and Baby Maria

Dear friend,

I'm looking for financial support to cover child care, living costs and medical bills for an accident that occurred on December 27th, 2022. I was walking on one of my favorite beaches on The Lost Coast with my 8-month-old baby and husband, Dan. It had been stormy the night before, but there was a break in the weather and the sun was starting to come out. We were keeping our distance from the shore break. I heard a roar and looked over to see a wall of water coming toward us. The ‘sneaker wave’ launched a 15-foot beached redwood tree directly at us. It smashed into Dan and then rolled over me and my baby. As it rolled over us I heard bones crushing. The wave washed out the entire beach and pushed us into a freshwater stream. I was unable to move. Dan pulled us out of the water and saved our lives. I thought our baby was crushed to death but she miraculously let out a cry and was unscathed. First responders got me off the beach and the Coast Guard helivaced me to St. Joseph's Hospital in Eureka, where they found multiple fractures in my pelvis.

The damage was so severe, they decided I should be flown to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento where they have the trauma team and orthopedic surgeons capable of handling my injuries. I was in the ICU for 6 days and underwent a massive 14-hour surgery to rebuild my shattered pelvis with multiple plates and screws.

On top of everything, babies are not allowed in the ICU. I wasn't allowed to see my baby. Breast pumps did not work, so I had to manually express breastmilk so that I could keep up production for when I got home. A few amazing nurses pulled some levers to help me escape the ICU for an hour to see her on my birthday. After another 3 nights, I made it back home and was finally reunited with her.

It’s a miracle that we’re alive and that I’ll be able to walk, but I have to learn all over again. My rehabilitation will take about 4-6 months during which I am unable to work. There is no way my husband can take care of me, the baby, and our home and go to work to pay the bills. I am asking for financial help to hire in-home childcare and cleaning as well as cover expenses helping to modify our home for a wheelchair. We don’t yet know the extent of hospital bills, but this fundraiser will go toward those as well.

Thank you for your compassion.

Love,

Jessie, Dan and Maria