Michelle Bui’s Fundraiser - bring our beautiful girl home

My name is Ella Weinzettel, I am devastated to bring you to this fundraiser to inform you that Michelle has been admitted into the Intensive Care Unit in Thriasio Hospital in Athens after sustaining a traumatic brain injury after an ATV accident whilst on holiday in Greece. The ATV that she was a part of drove into a ditch after a misinterpreted turn. Despite wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, when Michelle was retrieved from underneath the ATV, she was found without one.

She was later sent via helicopter to Athens from Ios island to perform CT scans of her brain and her spine where it showed a hematoma in the brain and a small cervical fracture. An emergency craniotomy was performed where they had removed a part of her skull in order to remove the hematoma. The hematoma was successfully evacuated and the skull was placed back. This is a good sign as it tells us that she does not need to have her skull to be removed for a period of time to decompress any additional pressure in her brain. She now has a drain inserted in her brain to drain out any excess bleeding. She has sustained rib fractures and a haemothorax, however these injuries do not need an operative intervention and instead will be for conservative management. She has also sustained small cervical fractures in her upper spine, similarly, these fractures do not require an operation and will also be for conservative management via an aspen collar for a number of weeks.

She has been deeply sedated and ventilated for the past few days and is in safe hands in the intensive care unit.

Rest assured that she has been covered by insurance who we have been in close contact with over the length of her admission however we are not entirely sure if her injuries are covered entirely. I cannot begin to imagine the financial burden that it will place on Michelle and her family. So I kindly ask each and every one of you to assist us in relieving this financial burden and to bring our beautiful girl home.

I ask of you that in this point in time, to respect Michelle’s family and Andrew’s privacy and to not pressure them with phone calls or messages during this difficult time.

I know that this isn’t the news you were expecting or the news that you will be able to bear by yourself. If you need any assistance in trying to cope, the 1800 011 511 Mental Health Line is NSW’s 24/7 state wide phone service.

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