Woman, 22, left paralysed after 'unimaginable incident' while knitting in park with best friend
A 22-year-old woman named Jasmine Mayer has been paralysed in the lower body after she'd been knitting with a friend on 17 May and a windstorm damaged a nearby tree.
The branch fell on Jasmine and she suffered serious injuries before being rushed to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
According to a GoFundMe set up by her loved ones, which you can donate to here, the 22-year-old is recovering from a severe spinal cord injury, fractured vertebrae and broken and bruised ribs.
She's currently paralysed, but is starting to get some sensation in her lower body again, and she has a long recovery journey ahead of her.
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The fundraiser said: "Her lower body is currently paralysed, but some pins-and-needles-type sensation is beginning to return to her legs and feet.
"The road ahead will be long as she moves through the stages of recovery, physical therapy, and adjusts to a new normal."
Her father Andy told the San Francisco Chronicle that his daughter's injuries were 'catastrophic', with her suffering from internal bleeding and doctors also discovering a blood clot.
Medics are fusing together some of her discs and her spinal cord hasn't been completely severed so he's hoping she'll recover further with time.
Andy said he and Jasmine were both 'hopeful' about her recovery but ultimately 'time will tell' and she will be putting a lot of work into her recovery.
"She was knitting and talking to her friend, and the branch came right down on them," he explained of what had happened, "We’ve talked about it since. There’s no anger. There’s no drunk driver. It’s just an unimaginable incident."
The GoFundMe, which at time of writing has raised over $44,000 of the $65,000 goal, will go towards funding the emergency healthcare the woman needs as well as help with the accessibility a serious injury such as the ones she's suffered demand.
A bigger vehicle, mobility aids, new equipment and housing along with the cost of transportation are all things her family are now trying to find the money for.
“She's such a strong, positive kid,” Andy said of his daughter as she faces a long journey ahead of her.
"She's been kind to everyone through the pain. She's been a positive person, and that hasn't changed at all."
The strong winds in the Santa Rosa area which brought down part of a tree onto Jasmine also dislodged another tree branch which killed a 61-year-old man, and the emergency services had to respond to several calls of damage and injury due to the windstorm.
Joe Harker