Sammy's Ski Accident Hospital Fund

1/25 UPDATE: Sammy finally got word from her insurance that her hospital bills will likely be at high at $23k because she was taken to an out-of-network hospital for her accident. Emergency personnel is required by law to take patients to the closest hospital with a qualifying trauma center for the accident level, which is what happened to Sammy and why her bills are so high even with insurance. An important, life-saving rule, but really tough when the bills start to arrive. This community is amazing, and the donations so far will make a huge difference, but I have upped the goal to see if we might be able to help her find more stability in this crazy time. BIG BIG BIG thank you again to everyone who has donated and shared <3

1/22 UPDATE: Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far. It warms my heart so much to see how this community can really come together for a friend in need. Sammy is home from the hospital!! YAY! And we hit the donation goal needed for her to replace her gear which is incredible. She spent 3 nights at the hospital, which will likely mean some pretty big medical bills, so I upped the goal to help support her on that next chapter of her journey. I know that Sammy is so incredibly grateful for all the love and support, so again, a big big thank you to everyone for your prayers, kind messages, and donations <3

On Thursday, Jan 19th, our dear friend Sammy Aucella was in a pretty serious backcountry ski accident where she fell roughly 100 feet down a series of rocks and cliffs (the last being over 40 feet) while skiing a line on Donner Pass. She was airlifted via helicopter from the site and transferred immediately to Reno for surgery and care. Her injuries include a punctured lung, fractured vertebrae and ribs, and two very large/deep wounds to her back and leg. As of the time of writing this, she is still in the hospital for observation.

While she is pretty beat up, she is in good spirits and already talking about how excited she will be to get back on her skis when she's all healed up. During her fall, her helmet was destroyed (likely saving her life!), and during the rescue/surgery prep, all of her ski clothing was cut from her body. This is where I was hoping we could all come together to support our friend- recovering from such a traumatic ski accident is hard enough, so I was hoping we could band together to help her replace her helmet, ski jacket + pants, and base layers so she will be ready whenever she does get the thumbs up from her doctors. If you live in the mountains, then you know how skiing is so much more than just a sport, it's what makes so many of us feel alive!

The extent of her hospital visit and bills is not known yet, but if we happen to raise more than the cost of the gear, I know that the extra money will be put to good use in paying for those bills. Sammy is an incredible photographer, but as a freelancer, taking time off to recover means no income coming in, so I know every little bit helps!