Help Keilani Triumph over Tragedy

Last Saturday afternoon, a friend’s beautiful 20 year-old daughter was seriously injured in a horrific head-on collision. Keilani and two of her fellow Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Art and Design majors were driving to see the wildflower Super Bloom when another car rounded a blind curve and swerved over the solid yellow line directly into the front of the car carrying Keilani and her roommates.

Keilani was the most severely injured. She was airlifted to a hospital in Santa Barbara and remains in critical condition, in a medically induced coma. In addition to a traumatic brain injury, she suffered broken ribs, broken pelvis, abdominal injuries, broken ankle and foot. She is expected to be in the Santa Barbara hospital for four to six months.

This beautiful girl is a talented artist and designer, avid reader, basketball and soccer star who radiates happiness and positivity. She has been a leader in her program at Cal Poly and already had her summer internship lined up. She lights up a room and is a truly kind person, and I can’t even imagine how she is suffering right now, to say nothing of her family.

I have been friends with her mom Cori (Baldoza) Waxdeck since I was thirteen years old. Cori, her husband Joel and their children Lenny, Braxton and Keilani are like family to us. I keep thinking, “What if this happened to one of my kids?” My friend Cori is an emergency room nurse who has been on the incoming end of such injuries during her twenty-seven-year career and never dreamed that she would be on the opposite side of the equation.

As you can imagine, this situation incurs many expenses. The airlift to the hospital is not covered by insurance, and may cost as much as $30,000. It isn’t clear yet how much of the hospital stay and doctor costs will be covered. Cori and Joel, who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, will stay in Santa Barbara for four to six months to be by Keilani’s side as she fights to recover. This means they will not be working (though fingers are crossed that Joel may eventually be able to work remotely). 

Between the medical bills and the cost of staying in Santa Barbara while not working, it’s a lot, so I hope that we can help the family defray some of their costs. Keilani will need the presence and support of her parents, and it’s important for them to focus on her rather than having to worry about the finances.  

Funds raised will be turned over to the family to help with immediate medical bills and living costs while they are far from home and, if any are left over, to support Keilani’s extended recovery when she is finally released from the hospital. Hopefully one day she’ll be able to hike the meadows to sketch and photograph the wildflowers as she had planned to do with her friends that day.

Whether you contribute financially or not, please pray and send positive thoughts to Keilani and her family at this time of great distress. And if you can, please:

1)      Give whatever you can. Any donation can make a difference.

2)      Share on social media.  Please use the hashtag #FlowersForKeilani

3)      Email this page to your family and friends.

http://mustangnews.net/cal-poly-students-severely-injured-in-head-on-fatal-collision

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/nature-travel/southern-california-super-bloom-photos