On Wednesday, January 13th, Cassidy was in a horrific car accident. She rear ended a dump truck going approximately 60 mph. Her car was completely crushed and submerged underneath the dump truck. To say it is a miracle she is alive would be an understatement. She was transported from South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, GA to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fl.
Upon arriving in Gainesville, doctors knew she had sustained a broken shoulder, multiple fractures in her spine, a crushed vertebrae, multiple toe fractures, and a pelvis fracture. The pelvis fracture was the primary concern as it broke right where the body bends to sit up. They did an immediate procedure where they inserted two large screws into her back to reconnect the pelvis and act as a support bar for her to be able to sit up again. Shortly after getting out of the pelvis surgery, doctors found something on her CT scan that caused concern for her intestines. They immediately rushed her back to the OR where they had to cut through her abdomen and suture a puncture wound in her small bowel. Her insides were very swollen so they had to remove her appendix during the operation so they could close her back up. As of now, the incision is closed with just the skin layer remaining open, packed with wet gauze. They hope to be able to finish stitching the skin layer after the swelling goes down.
She will have to go through more x rays to determine if additional surgeries will be needed for her spine and shoulder. As of now we don’t have any more information for those injuries. What we do know is that when she is released from Shands, she will need at home care as she learns to walk and move around on her own again. She will also have to go through physical therapy for her pelvis and shoulder.
Anyone who has ever met Cassidy knows she is the strongest, most caring person. She is in the process of obtaining her RN degree again because she has a true passion of taking care of others. Right now she needs us to take care of her. She will go home with her daughter and son-in-law when she is released so they can help care for her. She is so independent and her first concern when she woke was she didn’t want to be a burden to anyone. We remind her every day that she is not a burden and she has so many people who love and care about her. We are so humbled by the amount of people who have reached out wanting to help her. We hope this fundraiser is an easy way to donate for anyone who has asked if they can help. Thank you so much to every single person who has called, text, and prayed for her. Your prayers are working!