I’m Veronica. Recently, I got one of the worst calls of my life: my mom had been in a bad car accident. My mom is Rennie Smith, a therapist in Nevada and Sierra County. She was on her way to work when her car went off the road in a rural area and crashed horribly. Paramedics had to cut her out of the car. She was airlifted to a trauma center where she’s been for 2 weeks with serious injuries to her ribs, lung, scalp and vertebrae.  My dad, Smitty, has been driving every day 50 miles each way to be in the hospital with her, while also taking care of bills, insurance calls, and household needs.


Rennie Smith is everything to me -- my best friend and dedicated mother. She’s always been there for my brother and me. She’s the heart of our family -- funny, caring, spiritual, dedicated and above all else, loving. Losing my folks has always been a major fear, this is the closest that it’s ever been to coming true, and every day she’s not healed is torture for my dad, my brother, and me.



This accident has been devastating and will take some time to recover from. My dad is retired, so my mom up until now has been taking care of a lot of the household expenses and needs. Things like medical costs not covered by insurance, lost wages, gas money, groceries, all add up quickly.


Here’s some more information.


What Happened:


In the early morning hours of Friday, March 22nd, my mom was driving to work on highway 49 when she got in a bad car accident. From what we can tell, her car was sent off the road and down an embankment, spun through the grass, lost a wheel, struck something large which smashed in the driver’s door, and came to rest in a ditch. Paramedics arrived and used the jaws of life to cut the car open at the roof to get her out. She suffered six broken ribs, two fractured vertebrae, and a punctured lung. She was airlifted 60 miles to Sutter Roseville hospital and has been in the Trauma/ICU there ever since. Her car is a total loss.



The Prognosis:


She’s in critical condition but improves every day, despite obvious pain. Her prognosis is positive, although recovery is going to take time. Healing is slow, involving draining fluid from her injured lung, fighting off potential infection, and monitoring her for illnesses like pneumonia. She has a team of top nurses, doctors and surgeons, and she IS showing improvement. But for every few steps forward, there are one or two backward. She’s going to be better someday, it’s just going to take a lot of effort.



The Costs:
 

Smitty has been driving his pickup truck every day round trip over 100 miles to visit her in the hospital, so gas costs are an obvious one. Household bills are catching up pretty quickly. My mom is obviously out of work while she’s in the hospital and going through recovery, so that’s a lot of lost wages. This means that the Smith family needs financial assistance now. Everything seems to be more complicated and expensive with mom in the hospital, from food to gas to regular household bills and even getting another car to replace hers.


Where Donation Funds Go:


Funds from this campaign will help Rennie heal by making sure she has less lost wages to worry about, that her husband can best take care of her, that her medical costs aren’t as overwhelming. A donation here will directly go towards gas money, groceries, medical and household bills, hospital cafeteria food, prescriptions, and other assorted medical costs, like copays. There is no donation too small, and every penny truly helps.

Last, But Not Least:


To every one of the friends and family who has supported Rennie, Smitty, Brendan and me throughout this incredibly difficult place in our lives, we thank you. This has been emotional, tiring and raw. We couldn’t do it without your support.


Please share this far and wide, it means a lot to us and Rennie.