Shaniqwa Dickerson -wrong-way driver
Donation protected
We the Dickerson family are writing this letter on behalf of our daughter (Shaniqwa 32) who at the moment is unable to advocate for herself. We are concerned parents who is desperately seeking guidance and financial assistance that will allow our daughter to receive adequate medical attention/care who through no fault no fault of her own was struck head on by another vehicle traveling the wrong way while she was on her way home from work and she has unfortunately been in a coma for the past nine long months. It pains me to discuss this nightmare, however the need to obtain adequate medical care for our daughter supersedes the torment, agony and sense of helplessness my family is and has experienced since the accident.
On April 28, 2020 at approximately 10:30 PM, my daughter was traveling home from work where she was a Phlebotomist at a hospital in New York. She was struck by a wrong way driver going southbound in the northbound lane on the Saw Mill River Parkway. Her car was not only struck head on, she was also struck from the car behind. Her car burst into flames and unfortunately her airbags failed to deploy. Needless to say, our lives have not been close to the same since that dreadful day. Shaniqwa was rushed to Westchester Medical Center in critical condition and was placed on life support and put in a medically induced coma for two months. We were told at that point that she was very lucky to be alive and it was touch and go due to the severity of injuries. She was the only one injured in the crash out of the four individuals involved, but thank God she was alive.
Her injuries were and are extensive. They included multiple broken bones and a bleeding lever to name just a few. Shaniqwa is a fighter and we are a praying family. She sustained and is still suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). She stayed at Westchester Medical Center for three months and was then transferred to an acute long-term rehabilitation facility on July 21, 2020, once she was stable enough. We are heartbroken because we thought we saw a dim light at the end of this nightmare when she was moved to the rehabilitation facility. We were told in the beginning that they specialized in TBI care. However we weren't told the most important part, which is the patient needed to be able to follow commands. The months, weeks, days, and hours have been extremely tough on her as well as her entire family and this occurring during a pandemic (COVID-19) has complicated things even more. We remain prayerful and dedicated to the mission of getting our Shaniqwa on the other side of this tragedy.
Since transferring to the rehabilitation facility, Shaniqwa has never been re-evaluated and has continued to receive the same medication regiment that she was prescribed during her hospital stay. Some of those medications were administered to keep her asleep. She is also being given medication used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disease and depression. We also learned that five months later that the facility was still administering strong psychotic and pain meds 2-3 times a day without re-evaluation of any kind. How do they expect her to wake up and recognize verbal commands if two of her medications are designed to make her sleep? Has any damage occurred due to the prolonged use of these medications?
We have not been able to touch or talk to Shaniqwa since she arrived there on July 21, 2020 and as you can see we desperately need help navigating through this rough journey. We need help with getting Shaniqwa to a facility that has experience working with patients who have suffered TBI's that are nonverbal. Shaniqwa is still in a semi-coma and unable to follow commands. She also still has a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. We feel that she would be further along in the recovery process if she/we had the financial means or better medical insurance.
In my desire to paint a clear picture, I'd also like to share the fact that she was wearing braces on her hands and feet when she transferred to the rehab facility in order to prevent her limbs from contracting. I was saddened to find out that one of her fingers have contracted and is now deformed with no plain in sight to repair it. She has also not been seen by a Neurologist therefore we have no idea if she still has fluid on the brain or has it made any progress, etc. We were told that outside physicians (neurologist) were not allowed to visit the facility due to COVID-19.
Our daughter had just started a new job and was still within her probationary period, thus her medical insurance had not yet kicked in. This is a major dilemma and unfortunately presents an obstacle in the way of our beautiful, bright and caring daughter's path to receiving proper medial assistance. She is a fighter as you can see and she just needs your help. It was not her time on that day back in April and it certainly is not her time now, she still has work to do.
My apologies for the length of this letter, but I wanted to paint a clear picture of what happened and the fact that we need help navigating through this to get Shaniqwa the medical attention that she desperately needs as soon as possible. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanking you in advance for your time and attention regarding this matter.
The Dickersons
On April 28, 2020 at approximately 10:30 PM, my daughter was traveling home from work where she was a Phlebotomist at a hospital in New York. She was struck by a wrong way driver going southbound in the northbound lane on the Saw Mill River Parkway. Her car was not only struck head on, she was also struck from the car behind. Her car burst into flames and unfortunately her airbags failed to deploy. Needless to say, our lives have not been close to the same since that dreadful day. Shaniqwa was rushed to Westchester Medical Center in critical condition and was placed on life support and put in a medically induced coma for two months. We were told at that point that she was very lucky to be alive and it was touch and go due to the severity of injuries. She was the only one injured in the crash out of the four individuals involved, but thank God she was alive.
Her injuries were and are extensive. They included multiple broken bones and a bleeding lever to name just a few. Shaniqwa is a fighter and we are a praying family. She sustained and is still suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). She stayed at Westchester Medical Center for three months and was then transferred to an acute long-term rehabilitation facility on July 21, 2020, once she was stable enough. We are heartbroken because we thought we saw a dim light at the end of this nightmare when she was moved to the rehabilitation facility. We were told in the beginning that they specialized in TBI care. However we weren't told the most important part, which is the patient needed to be able to follow commands. The months, weeks, days, and hours have been extremely tough on her as well as her entire family and this occurring during a pandemic (COVID-19) has complicated things even more. We remain prayerful and dedicated to the mission of getting our Shaniqwa on the other side of this tragedy.
Since transferring to the rehabilitation facility, Shaniqwa has never been re-evaluated and has continued to receive the same medication regiment that she was prescribed during her hospital stay. Some of those medications were administered to keep her asleep. She is also being given medication used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disease and depression. We also learned that five months later that the facility was still administering strong psychotic and pain meds 2-3 times a day without re-evaluation of any kind. How do they expect her to wake up and recognize verbal commands if two of her medications are designed to make her sleep? Has any damage occurred due to the prolonged use of these medications?
We have not been able to touch or talk to Shaniqwa since she arrived there on July 21, 2020 and as you can see we desperately need help navigating through this rough journey. We need help with getting Shaniqwa to a facility that has experience working with patients who have suffered TBI's that are nonverbal. Shaniqwa is still in a semi-coma and unable to follow commands. She also still has a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. We feel that she would be further along in the recovery process if she/we had the financial means or better medical insurance.
In my desire to paint a clear picture, I'd also like to share the fact that she was wearing braces on her hands and feet when she transferred to the rehab facility in order to prevent her limbs from contracting. I was saddened to find out that one of her fingers have contracted and is now deformed with no plain in sight to repair it. She has also not been seen by a Neurologist therefore we have no idea if she still has fluid on the brain or has it made any progress, etc. We were told that outside physicians (neurologist) were not allowed to visit the facility due to COVID-19.
Our daughter had just started a new job and was still within her probationary period, thus her medical insurance had not yet kicked in. This is a major dilemma and unfortunately presents an obstacle in the way of our beautiful, bright and caring daughter's path to receiving proper medial assistance. She is a fighter as you can see and she just needs your help. It was not her time on that day back in April and it certainly is not her time now, she still has work to do.
My apologies for the length of this letter, but I wanted to paint a clear picture of what happened and the fact that we need help navigating through this to get Shaniqwa the medical attention that she desperately needs as soon as possible. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanking you in advance for your time and attention regarding this matter.
The Dickersons
Organizer and beneficiary
Sandra Dickerson
Organizer
Danbury, CT
Sandra Dickerson
Beneficiary
