Justice and Healing for Andrea

I am reaching out to ask for your help in supporting our friend Andrea in her recovery and healing.

For those who don’t know her, Andrea is an outgoing, vibrant woman who can make a friend anywhere. She thrives outdoors, and enjoys communing with nature on camping trips with her dog, Georgia. Photography became her passion at a young age, and she bought her first big camera at age 16. It has fueled her creative side, allowing her to express herself, see the world, and foster connections with those around her. 

She was blessed to make this passion a career, but it has been interrupted by the symptoms of PTSD, which have worsened significantly in the last two years.

In the Fall of 2013, Andrea began college at University of Denver. She joined a sorority, found her place socially, and began settling into her new life.

Then, on Halloween, during her eighth week of school, she was sexually assaulted by two men.

She reported it, but the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. Word about the report spread to a fraternity, whose members empathized with her assailants, and began spreading vicious rumors about her, defaming her character, and recruiting other students to shun her socially and blacklist her from events on campus. Among other misogynist screeds and slurs, lies about her circulated and were intentionally promoted labeling her a “liability” who would have consensual sex when under the influence of alcohol and later claim it was rape. Alone and hundreds of miles from caring and supportive friends, Andrea’s new network began to crumble around her as more of the people she trusted defected, turned cold, or told her to “get over it” and move on.

Nothing was done by the school to support Andrea or to bring her attackers to justice despite numerous meetings with administrators, and even a meeting between the chancellor and her parents. In the summer after freshman year, she was diagnosed with PTSD. She tried to find normalcy, but the trauma of being assaulted by two men as well as the trauma of social derision and isolation that occurred after prevented her from moving forward.

In October 2018, Andrea moved back to Denver to continue receiving treatment using Victims Compensation, which she was granted through the Denver District Attorney’s office while in college. The intensity of trauma treatment caused many adverse symptoms. Andrea was vomiting, exhausted, her hair began falling out, and she was in constant physical pain. In the spring of 2019, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and in addition to attempting to heal from psychological trauma, she is now contending with chronic pain as well.

Her funds through Victim’s Compensation ran out in early 2020 due to budget cuts. She has twice tried to go through a lawyer to get justice and financial support for her recovery. The first time, she was talked out of it, and the second time, she learned she had just missed the statute of limitations by two months.

This April, Andrea began six weeks of PTSD treatment at a rehabilitation facility in Seattle and finished her program in late May. She has never worked harder in her life, but she still has far to go to return to a baseline that most of us take for granted every single day. She knows that after being discharged she still faces a long road to recovery from PTSD and the mental and physical health challenges associated with trauma.

Her doctors have advised the following treatment plan:

• EMDR Therapy; a common treatment for PTSD to relieve psychological stress.
• Somatic Experiencing Therapy; helps to restore a balance between hypervigilance and numbness to the world, and alleviates the physical effects of trauma on the body
• Acupuncture and Craniosacral Massage; the only two pain management techniques that have helped her
• 6 months of dedicated recovery time; Andrea’s previous attempts at recovery have shown that she needs to commit herself fully to recovery without having to worry about the stresses of work or day-to-day events.

Andrea has done everything she can to heal on her own, but it hasn’t worked. If she could heal her trauma from self help books, exercise, yoga, or meditation, she would have already done it. She is dedicated to continuing these healthy lifestyle changes, but to meaningfully recover she needs more. Andrea needs specific trauma treatments from specialists due to the severity of her symptoms, and these are not covered by insurance. Her doctors and therapists agree that she needs to focus exclusively on her treatment, as each time she has tried to push through her trauma to be present at work or school, her symptoms have become more severe and debilitating.

It took a community to tear Andrea down, and it will take a new community to build her up.

Andrea is lucky enough to have a passion that she can pursue as a career, but the enduring symptoms of PTSD have prevented her from sharing her art and creativity with the world. It is extremely difficult for Andrea to share her traumas and symptoms publicly, especially given the harassment she endured after reporting her rape. However, she deserves to get treatment and heal from PTSD, and she will not be able to without financial assistance. Please consider helping in any way you can, as Andrea is such an incredible woman and she deserves to experience her life and pursue her career without the burdens of trauma.