**Help Me Walk Again After a Tragic Accident*

Hi, my name is Julia Aguirre-Venegas, and I’m fundraising for a life-changing surgery that will help me walk again.

Earlier this year, my life was turned upside down in a matter of seconds. I was hit by a drunk driver while walking—an accident that left me severely injured and disabled. I went from being a healthy, independent woman to fighting to recover my mobility and my future.

The crash caused devastating injuries, and doctors had to perform multiple surgeries just to save my remaining left leg. The driver who hit me was uninsured, so I won’t be receiving any financial compensation for the damage that was done to me. To make matters worse, my insurance has denied me the surgeon I was referred to by my UCLA orthopedist because he is out of my network. The severity and complexity of my needs I feel are not being acknowledged because of the denial of continuity care.ñ that has been presented but denied.

Right now, I need a crucial surgery ( and possible more surgeries) that will restore functionality to my left leg and allow me to walk again— the right with the aid of a prosthetic. Without this procedure, I face a future of limited mobility and chronic pain. With it, I have a chance at getting my life back.

I’m asking for your support to possibly help cover the cost of this surgery, as well as related medical expenses, and expenses related to my journey in these difficult times that have been overwhelming. Every donation, no matter the size, brings me closer to healing, walking again, and reclaiming my independence. *Update* I have been 137 days but possibly more after this update laying in a hospital bed because I cannot walk.

On September 10,2025 I had an incident in Dignity Health Northridge Acute Rehab, I was showering under the occupational therapists supervision ( she was teaching me how to shower with the chair I’d eventually be sent home with) I was transferred successfully to the shower chair but minutes into my shower I suddenly felt my head hit the floor and saw my legs up in the air. The director Debra Horwits came to talk to my husband and me but never to apologize for what had occurred. The next day my husband gets instructions to get additional x rays which were crucial to make sure my hardware (screws and rods) were not compromised. We had already taken some at the rehab but they were not as precise as our orthopedic surgeon needed them to be. We waited for the results in the ER of the UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital, and later get a call by the director of Acute Rehab in Dignity Health Hospital Northridge that because we got services here from emergencies we broke a policy ( which we were not aware of) and allowed her to kick us out and no longer be under there much needed care.

I need justice, and I need help. My medical journey has been a nightmare.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, sharing, and supporting. It means more than you know.

—Julia

IG: @aguirre4.1.3