Evie broke her neck in Croatia! Help her navigate her spinal fracture challenges with ease

Dear friends and admirers of Evie!

Evie suffered a very bad fall, and, on top of stitches for her head wound, she’s in a brace for an unstable fracture at C4, which MRI imaging revealed is also in dangerous contact with her spinal cord. In short, she broke her neck, and conservative treatment is highly discouraged for this degree of instability and spinal cord contact. She needs surgery now—specifically C3-C5 fusion and discectomy.

This is Evie’s sister, Megan, writing from Los Angeles. I was so sad to say farewell to Evie when she left LA, but we agreed her move seemed like a wonderful new chapter for her. I believe it still can be with the help of such enormous friendship.

HOW IS EVIE?

Beyond the manageable pain, symptoms are (so far) minimal, but because the fracture’s unstable and in contact with her spinal cord, that could change at any moment up until surgery, especially when it comes to neurological symptoms. Afterwards, recovery will be long and bring its own limitations and risks. To manage this experience with relative ease, Evie needs help—especially since her freelance income is at least temporarily impeded. All this said, Evie’s in good spirits and continues to welcome memes, reels, gifs, etc. She’s back on Instagram at @thetripleruthtruth.

WHAT HAPPENED?

While there’s a lot to the story, the short version is that Evie had just arrived to Pula and was hauling her luggage up the stone spiral stairs of her new building when she missed a step, reached for the wrong wall (the one without a railing), and tipped backwards, landing directly on her head and neck. Her phone was on the top floor of the building, and when her cries for help went unanswered, knowing she was losing a lot of blood, she crawled up two flights of stairs while holding her head up with her free hand. Evie is aware this was badass. After calling an ambulance, she then endured almost 24 hours of intense pressure to undergo immediate surgery from the local hospital’s medical team, who left her on a gurney in the hallway the entire time, making relentless transphobic remarks. She’s proud to have made it to this next step, with surgeons she chooses, challenging as it will be to pay for.

WHERE WILL THIS MONEY GO?

- Surgery Bills: Evie has already paid about $1000 in emergency medical bills out of her own meager savings, and much bigger ones are on the way. The goal amount may increase as the treatment and recovery path unfolds (with one of the many spinal centers we’re talking to right now), perhaps with totally unforeseen wrinkles.

- Medical Transportation: Evie is likely to require professional medical transportation of some kind (whether it’s to Zagreb, Rijeka, Bologna, Udine, or any other place surgery might happen), and that alone is likely to cost at least $500 and possibly much more. We’ll know more soon.

- Daily Living Support (People): Home visitation. Cleaning help. Delivery services. While it’s important for Evie to keep moving around her apartment and the world, her limited range of motion and fluctuating pain levels will mean help is sometimes needed or just a relief. So far, we’ve benefited tremendously from the (compensated) help of a trans woman in Pula, who periodically visits to cook, clean, lift heavy things, and check on Evie’s condition. (This was set up with help from the heroic friend Emanuel, who stayed with Evie for the first four days after her discharge.) But these costs will add up over time.

- Daily Living Support (Items): If Evie is to continue reading, writing, and remotely freelancing at all, she’ll need some new equipment that allows her to do that without bending/turning her neck or slouching/twisting her back—even things as simple as clothes that cooperate with a halo brace, if she needs that. Depending on what the medical team recommends, this could involve a lot!

WHERE WILL SURGERY HAPPEN?

Hopefully in Croatia (Zagreb or Rijeka)! We remain in contact with three spinal surgery centers in Croatia and have an offer of just under $15,000 from one of them. For all we know, every clinic might forbid substantial travel (outside of ambulatory care). However, we are looking for a high volume of experience with Evie’s particular injury and proposed operation(s), so we are also evaluating a wide range of options, especially nearby in Italy, in case Evie is cleared for any degree of travel. Air travel back to the U.S. so far seems unlikely to be approved.

HOW CAN I HELP?

We are of course asking for help from family, and we realize that many like our folks have little to no expendable income. Please share recommendations and encouragement if you’re unable to contribute financially. Thank you all for your care.

Ways to help financially:

- Here on GoFundMe

- Venmo @EvieAtomAtkinson, which can still be reflected as a donation here on GoFundMe