Help Sharon Aldeguer from Financial Stress

I didn't think it could happen but it did. On October 31, early Halloween evening, just before trick or treaters would come out in their costumes, my cousin Sharon took a walk with her friend in her residential neighborhood when she was struck by a turning car while crossing the street.

The accident resulted in trauma to her brain, causing brain bleed and brain contusions that resulted in an overnight stay in the Emergency Trauma Unit at Queens. She was in and out of the Emergency Room three times that first week.

The difficulties that came from this event didn't take away her courage, grit and focus to heal. It’s been some weeks since that day and she is recovering a day at a time, treating each day uniquely, as her symptoms vary each day. She experienced total body whiplash which made moving her entire body a challenge. Simply getting up to walk or put on a sock felt insurmountable. In conjunction, she sustained an internal sprained ankle, abrasions throughout, fatigue randomly spread over the course of her day, and endures spells of vertigo and dizziness at sudden movement as simple as turning her head. She is advised not to drive as well.

The emotional trauma of the accident has surfaced affecting her with anxiety, tenseness and stress whenever a vehicle is heading towards her on the street as she is taking slow daily walks on the sidewalk. In addition to all this, she is also a brain tumor survivor and while she still has the benign tumor, she is on the wait-and-watch list hinging on its growth. She is blessed in being in remission and no-growth in the past recent years. However, how she will be affected physically and emotionally from this accident months and years from now is up in the air.

This month alone has proven to be a stressful financial burden. Due to her inability to work she has lost clients which means the funds she was relying on living on for the next few months went towards this loss. Because healing from brain trauma is different for everyone, doctors aren’t able to say when she can return to her physically demanding job - she is an independent personal trainer and nutritionist and was recently voted a few months ago by its members as NextDoor's Favorite in the Ala Moana and Kakaako district (Honolulu).

Her mission is to help others achieve health and physical goals on a different level no matter their circumstance. To her everyone is a gift and here to create impact, to influence, to share their truth, and to make the world a better place. And she sees it as her responsibility to give and share her gift by guiding them in healing their bodies and mindset through movement and nutrition resulting in rebalancing their energies holistically.

She will continue giving and sharing as that is one of her core values. I am hoping that we can help her in return. Our campaign goal is $25,000. It will aid Sharon in covering the necessities of life like:

Expenses related to rent, food, utilities, bills, etc

Transportation expense as she can't drive

Out of pocket medical costs

We are hoping it will take care of her for the next few months so she can focus on progressing her healing and getting better each day. Side by side and with our combined hearts, let us help her through the holiday season and the first months of the new year.

Thank you for reading Sharon's story. This experience hits especially close to home to Sharon - it could have been any one of us crossing a street that Halloween evening. We appreciate any help or contribution, no matter how big or small! If possible, please share our campaign link on social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and with your friends. Any questions, please contact us at [email redacted]