Today is my 23rd birthday (my golden birthday!), and I am taking this time to ask the public for help. This GoFundMe is raising money for both me and my Dad. Our individual stories and reasons for fundraising are below. The earnings from this GoFundMe will be split 50/50 between myself and my Dad.

On July 1st of 2024, I was riding my bike when I was struck by a truck. I was riding my bike to my internship office in Juneau, AK, when a truck hit me from behind. I have no memory of the day or my accident, but the story goes as follows.

After I was hit from behind, I was launched from my bicycle and went about 30 feet. The driver phoned 911, and an ambulance brought me to the hospital in Juneau. After initial diagnosis, the hospital decided my injuries were beyond their capabilities. I was then medically evacuated by Life Flight to the regional trauma center, Harborview in Seattle. There, I stayed in the ICU for four days before being released home. My injuries were as follows: 5 broken ribs, a crushed vertebra in my mid-spine, collapsed lung, concussion, lacerated spleen and liver, broken teeth, and plenty of road rash/skin injuries. My memory from my time in the hospital is extremely foggy, with my earliest memories coming from the late hours of July 1st. When I was released, I could barely move. Half alert and very injured in the weeks following my accident, I had to have help sitting up, laying down, rolling over, eating, drinking, using the bathroom, bathing, and changing clothes. I needed help with pretty much everything. I am extremely grateful for all of the help I had from my friends and family. I don't know how I would have made it out okay without the help and assistance I received.

I was mostly recovered by October; however, I still have pain every day and will likely experience some level of back pain for the rest of my life. Once I was healed, I started to deal with all of the bills and letters I was getting. The insurance company of the truck that hit me had been reaching out to me in efforts to get me to pay for the damages to the truck. I was getting billed over $11,000. At this point, I was in denial that I should have to pay that after what I had been through. I sought legal attention from a legal firm specializing in bicycle accidents. They ended up being of no help to me. In short, I was found at fault for the accident. I deeply believe that I should not be at fault, and after seeking various levels of additional legal help, I was advised that the easiest way out is to pay for the damages to the truck. My other options were to sue or to go to trial, both of which come with much higher financial risk and uncertainty on top of thousands of dollars up front to pursue those routes.

I am lucky enough to have been on WA State medical insurance. I was on a generous plan, and all of my medical bills were covered (the airlift company billed my insurance $157k for my MedEvac from Juneau to Seattle, but luckily they took care of this, and I did not have to pay). I paid $2000 out of pocket for crowns to fix my broken front teeth and then was stuck with the $11,000 for the damages to the truck. This amount is not finalized either; I was just notified the other day that an extra $515 was being added, and more could be coming my way for a larger grand total.

I am making this GoFundMe because I had only graduated from Cornell University about a month before my accident. In the time when I was supposed to be starting my life, building my wealth, and getting a Big Girl Job, I ended up getting into an extremely traumatic and life-changing accident. In the New Year, I started on a payment plan of $400 a month for the next two years to pay off the truck damages, and I just cannot comfortably pay this. I have a barista job where I am scheduled for 3 days a week. The short hours were very helpful for me to gradually lean back into working as my injuries still cause me pain every day, but the paychecks are not enough for all of my expenses. I, like any fresh college graduate, have very little money to my name, no assets, and reserves, no cushion to fall back on. Being hit with this kind of financial responsibility at this stage of my life has been an extreme burden.

As for my Dad, 3 weeks after I got into my accident, he also got into an accident. On July 22nd, he was riding his dual sport motorbike on the Washington Back Country Discovery Route. He and a friend were riding on a rocky trail when my Dad crashed his bike. Only going a few miles an hour, he was on a long steep downhill on Cleman Mountain between Packwood and Ellensburg and lost traction in his front tire when he fell over on his left side, smacking his head on the ground, knocking himself out. After laying there, he somehow picked up his motorcycle before passing out again. Being far from help or civilization, he persevered in the 100-degree heat and continued on, and rode an extra 40 miles back to Ellensburg, WA, where they got a hotel room. He rode back in shock, losing control of his bodily functions and running purely on adrenaline. A quote he uses to describe the experience was, "I could die just laying there, or I could die trying to get out."

The next morning, my grandpa picked them up from Central WA and brought them home, where we took Dad to the emergency room. He had 5 broken ribs (3 displaced) and an aortic hematoma. The aorta damage was considered potentially extremely dangerous, so they transported him by ambulance to an aortic trauma specialist in Tacoma in case he would need emergency surgery there. He also stayed in the ICU for 4 days on surgery watch before he was released and recovered at home. His recovery looked very similar to mine: lots of pain meds, needed help laying down and sitting up, driving, eating, and drinking, a very painful time while bones and organs tried to heal.

After some more time, my Dad also started getting hit with bills and paperwork. Between ambulance costs and reaching his maximum out-of-pocket expense, he has to pay about the same amount as I do. We have bonded a lot after having similar injuries at around the same time. I have been living with him since I got back to WA. We had spent lots of time on the couch together just waiting for our injuries to heal so we could get back to a normal life. Right now it is just us that live at home together, still coping with our physical and financial realities.

Both me and my Dad had similar injuries, and our financial debts ended up being very similar amounts after all was said and done. While I have tried to find ways to cope with the large volume of money I have to pay for damaging a car that caused me great trauma and injury, I have always said that my Dad does not deserve to pay the amount of money he owes either. I think that he is too close to retirement to be having to pay off such amounts. The FMLA money didn't nearly stretch far enough for the 9 weeks he had to take off of work without pay. Neither of us are in a spot to comfortably pay these institutions, which is why we are reaching out for help.

Any amount we are extremely grateful for, even a few dollars helps make a dent. We are deeply appreciative of any willingness to help: donations, shares, compassion, and empathy. Any consideration will go a long way for me and my dad. Please share our story so that we can put our traumatic year behind us.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, The Heaton Family