Young Nurse Left With A Traumatic Brain Injury After A Terrible Car Accident

Los Angeles, California. Katie was a healthy 32-year-old before a brutal car accident left her in critical condition.

The circumstances of the crash are still unclear, but it happened at the bottom of a grapevine pass outside of Los Angeles, California.

After the accident, Katie was moved to the level two trauma floor of the ICU at a local hospital, remaining unconscious.

Doctors soon found that she had a traumatic brain injury called Diffuse Axonal Injury, or DAI.

Her family and friends then created a GoFundMe to help cover medical bills that insurance won’t and help pay her monthly bills while she stayed in the rehabilitation center. 

Katie’s family has lived in Marin County for an impressive six generations. Her two sisters and parents have been at her bedside since the accident. 

“Katie is employed as a registered nurse at Sutter Hospital in Santa Rosa,” her family explains in their post.

“Katie is a hero, as she has provided loving care to her patients prior to and throughout the pandemic.”

GoFundMe; pictured above is Katie

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They also make sure that those who visit the GoFundMe page know that Katie is a fun-loving, adventurous hiker, athlete, and friend—she is so much more than her accident.

Thankfully, they’ve exceeded their goal by a staggering $24,000. And her family is still sharing updates.

“Katie continues to make steady progress and improvements,” they wrote on December 31st. Doctors recently inserted a speaking valve so that Katie could finally speak to her family over FaceTime.

Her family shared the difficulty of Katie staying in the hospital for such an extended time.

“Katie understands that she needs to be in the hospital however has told us many times that she wants to come home. Today when FaceTiming with our dog Charlie, she said, “I can’t wait to come home and take you on a walk.” 

Because of Covid protocols, the family is usually unable to visit Katie, but hopefully, after the surge of holiday infections, the hospital will relax precautions. For now, the family is limiting their contact with others to maintain their health and visit Katie. 

Though the family is still unsure about the next steps for Katie’s recovery, they are doing research, learning more about available supports, and leaning on friends and family. 

One family left a comment with a message for Katie on the GoFundMe. “Dear Katie, the road to recovery might be long, might be hard, but you are strong and an amazing woman!! Never give up!! We love you!!”

You can read about Katie and her family here

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