My 19-year-old niece, Samantha, was involved in a car accident on June 20th and almost lost her life. A trauma surgeon called and told me that she had a torn aorta, multiple broken bones (ankle, hand, ribs), and a lacerated liver. She was rushed to emergency surgery to repair the aorta right away. The surgeon told us she was incredibly lucky; 99% of people with this type of injury don’t survive. She will need surgery to repair her ankle and hand in the next couple of days once some of the swelling goes down.

As you can imagine, she has been in a ton of pain but handling it all so well. If you’ve ever met Sam, you know that she is incredibly bright, funny, sweet, and so strong. I wish she didn’t have to go through this, but I am so grateful she is alive, and I will do whatever it takes to help her. The last thing I want for her right now is to worry about the financial side of this. It’s going to be a very long road to recovery. She will be out of work for several months, and her car was totaled, of course. She had car insurance, but liability only, so she will be without a car, and I can’t imagine the medical bills from this hospital stay along with the care once she is home and the months following. Anything helps. I am not even sure what is needed right now, but I know it will be a lot. Thank you all!