Stef's Bike Accident

Stefanie & Mike were in Tahoe for the weekend and on a bike ride around the lake on Saturday, July 25. Mike was in front of her about 10 yards when he heard her brakes squeal. When he turned around she was on the ground with the bike on top of her and unconscious. Thankfully Mike was with her and is a first responder who is trained for these types of emergencies. She was Life Flighted to Reno. She was intubated immediately and had bleeding in her right temporal lobe. The latest CT, as of Tuesday, July 27, showed no additional bleeding.

She isn't able to communicate with us, but we have faith she can feel our presence. We are able to visit her from 9am-8pm daily. Mike reads her books and plays her favorite country tunes, her Mom sings her songs she sang to her growing up, Erin reads all of your comments from the Caring Bridge site, her Dad shares childhood soccer memories, Ms. Stefani (Mike's Mom) is sharing all the happy hour spots they will check out soon, Kasey (Mike's sister) is going to ensure her roots are kept fresh and hair is on point and I'm playing her Kygo radio and reminiscing aloud on our fun times together (many of them with all of you).

She's spending a lot of time resting. I'm confident she is dreaming of  marrying Mike <3,
Oscar and Archie, bloody mary's, Taco Bell, frito jazz, brookies and all the memories she has made with her family and friends.

Mike and her sister, Erin, post updates at the webpage below multiple times a day.

Https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/stefaniesotello

Please check it out so you can follow her recovery journey. We know she is a fighter and so so strong. The medical staff here agree as you can frequently here them saying "Wow, where does she get all of this strength she is so tiny" we all have a chuckle and say "yep, that's our Stef".

Many have asked how they can help support especially since we are in Reno and will be here for what could be a few months. Any funds raised will cover lodging, flights and transportation to/from the hospital for her and Mike's family. Her sister, Erin, set up a new account for these funds and anything raised here will go into that account.

Thank you to everyone for the sweet messages, your love and continued prayers.