Please help Sonya get back on her feet

My name is Brad Terry. Sonya (Terry) Francis is my sister and her son, Devan, is my nephew. I am hoping to raise some money to help them out financially following a serious car crash that occurred on January 14, 2023. Sonya is facing still-mounting medical bills as well as a complete loss of income for the indefinite future.

That evening, Sonya and her son, Devan, age 16, were returning to Sioux Falls from Sioux City after attending the funeral of lifelong family friend, Fr. Frank Parrinello, who died unexpectedly at the age of 55, when they were involved in a serious roll-over crash on Interstate 29. At about 8:00 pm, some 25 miles south of Sioux Falls on I-29, they hit a patch of black ice. The car instantly lost all traction and turned 90 degrees on the interstate before leaving the roadway and rolling over 4 complete times, finally coming to rest on its wheels next to a snowy field, about 150 feet from the interstate. Sonya was knocked unconscious and was out for nearly 10 minutes. Devan suffered only minor injuries, but experienced the trauma of being unsure if he'd just witnessed the death of his second parent, having found his father, Chad, dead on the kitchen floor after a massive coronary event 5 years ago. He sat essentially alone in the cold, battered car confronting this uncertainty for 10 long minutes until Sonya began to come to.

For Sonya's part, she suffered extensive trauma and bruising to most of her body. More serious was a brain injury suffered when she struck her head on some element of the car as it rolled over and over. Initial concern focused on her shunt, a pressure-relieving device implanted in her brain in an emergency, life-saving operation at the Mayo Clinic when she was 15. Fortunately, the implant appears to have been undamaged, but she was experiencing serious bleeding in her brain. For several days, Sonya underwent CT scans every 4 hours to monitor the bleeding, and any attendant pressure that could build up. Doctors eventually controlled then stopped the bleeding, but Sonya will have to continue to have the situation monitored regularly for up to a year. Otherwise, her injuries consist mostly of short term memory loss, moderate general confusion, severe headaches, and generalized weakness, stiffness and body aches and pains, and the mental trauma of the entire experience for both her and Devan. She is now on doctor-ordered bed rest till further notice.

The result of all of this is that Sonya, in particular, needs a substantial period of recovery time, and she will be unable to work at all for the foreseeable future. As a widowed mother, she is the only reliable source of support for her household. As a self-employed chronic-pain massage therapist, her job requires extensive effort, both mentally and physically, which she is simply incapable of at the moment. And if she doesn't work she doesn't get paid, anything. In addition, she has no access to benefits like disability or unemployment insurance that many of us could rely on, at least partially, in similar circumstances.

So the coming months are going to be extremely challenging. With this GoFundMe page, we are asking family, friends, neighbors and strangers to help her get back on her feet. I hope you will be able to contribute to her cause. Even a small contribution will be a huge help to Sonya and her family. Thank you in advance for your kind thoughts and prayers, and, of course, for any financial assistance you may be able to provide.