Help Gabrielle recover from spinal injury
Help Gabrielle recover from spinal injury
Help Gabrielle recover from spinal injury
Help Gabrielle recover from spinal injury
Help Gabrielle recover from spinal injury
This campaign is closed
Help Gabrielle recover from spinal injury
Gabrielle Broder is our friend, colleague, teacher, and an all-around incredible person. On the rainy night of December 2, 2015, she was driving home on the Cross Bronx Expressway. The tractor trailer in front of her suddenly slammed on its brakes and Gabrielle wasn't able to stop in time. He car smashed into the back of the truck, and went under it. The police officers who arrived on the scene assumed she wasn't alive, but when they reached her they were surprised to see that she was conscious. She was rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where she spent two and half weeks in ICU, sedated, as doctor's performed many surgeries. She was then transferred to Mount Sinai Spinal Cord Rehab Center. Thankfully, Gabrielle came out of the induced coma just the same sweet, funny, vibrant woman she has always been. Unfortunately, she suffered severe trauma to her spinal cord. While she has some minor sensation in her legs, she cannot move them at all, and has only limited movement in her hands and arms.
Recently Gabrielle had to leave Mount Sinai and is living with her mom in Greenwich Village, NY, trying to navigate the nightmare of getting therapy, medical equipment, transportation... everything she needs to recover. She cannot work, and had to give up her apartment. Her mom works full time, and is doing what she can to augment what insurance will cover, but at a great cost. The out-of-pocket, non-reimbursable cost for full-time aides for Gabrielle is $4500 per month, and is unsustainable by her mom for long. Yet she needs these aides to move her into a different position every 30 minutes to try to alleviate the pain she feels on a constant basis.
As of right now she is receiving only 1 to 2 hours of therapy a week due to Medicaid limitations, and Medicaid does not cover the cost of many therapies. Additionally, Gabrielle needs to buy a pressure-controlled mattress as she has to spend large amounts of time in bed and the pressure can be extremely painful. Finally, her mom's apartment is not wheelchair accessible, and must be altered to enable Gabrielle to get out of the apartment.
We so greatly appreciate your donation and will keep you updated on her progress. If you are not able to contribute at this time, could you please share this story with your friends? Thank you so much.
God bless you.
Gabrielle's friends and colleagues