Love for Zahir

Yesterday my brother and his 2-year-old daughter were legally walking in a crosswalk when a car from the other direction hit them. They were side by side, and my brother was hit first, sending him over the hood and car. My niece, Zahir, was ran over and was dragged for approximately 20 ft. before the car stopped. Bystanders and family members were able to lift enough pressure off the car to get Zahir out from under the car.

Zahir miraculously survived with "just" a broken femur (upper leg bone), and some scrapes and bruises. Given the circumstances, my family is thankful of the relatively good outcome. She had surgery last night that went well, but now the next hard part comes. Pain, boredom, and a full lower body cast. We are beyond thankful that her head and spine were spared, and is expected to make a full recovery. We are hoping she can get discharged from the hospital today, and start recovering.

My brother has some road rash and soreness, but really his pain was watching his daughter go through that. Zahir's mother, Lisha, was across the street and witnessed the whole accident (and ran over to stop the car). Both of them are thankful for Zahir surviving, but are heartbroken and traumatized seeing their angel go through that, and seeing the pain she is in.

I made this fundraiser to help alleviate the upcoming financial hardships ahead. Zahir is in a spica cast, which casts her hips and legs in place so she can heal (as seen in the pictures). Their trip to Mexico next month to see her paternal grandmother is cancelled (obviously), and as a 2-year-old in a half-body cast, is going to need her parents 24/7 to help her to thrive in the circumstances. Her mom is a local substitute teacher and her dad is self-employed as a wedding videographer. The most loving parents that have dedicated their lives to this angel, and the next 4-6 months is going to be a whole other level. I am extremely close to them (Zahir was literally born at my house), and if you follow my facebook and instagram account, you can see I love Zahir to death. With the known expenses ahead (starting today), and the unknowns of insurance compensation (and when), I would love to get some help for them to focus on healing, physically for Zahir and mentally as a family for the near future. I have my full faith that they will return the favor as much as they can in the future. 

I'm also going to post a picture of a gofundme I shared on my facebook in 2015. It was eerily the same circumstances as you can read in the post, and you can see Lisha "liked" the post (and I'm willing to bet donated). Let's see if we can return the favor. As a firefighter, I responded to that incident in 2015 and saw the aftermath a family's unfortunate day. This time, it was my brother and my niece, that my coworkers and other first responders responded to. Point is, you can help someone one day and be asking for help the next. Knowing my brother and Lisha, they are more stubborn than me, so it's my time to try and help them.

That being said, my brother and Lisha both have full time jobs and live frugally. Although they work full-time, it's paycheck to paycheck, and I hope they could take a couple months off not worrying about paying the normal bills and unplanned ones. I know everyone says this about their family; but this little girl is the sweetest, most caring, and food-sharing angel I've ever met. She loves to sing, dance, and make you laugh (refer to my instagram:). For the next few months, dancing will have to wait, but the other two she'll keep rocking.

Thanks for reading. At their point in life, everything helps. Five dollars, a facebook share, or just some good vibes and thoughts would mean the world to these great people. I'd also like to send some good vibes to the driver. It was an accident, does not appear to be under the influence of anything, and I can't imagine the guilt I would have if I made the same mistake. Luckily everyone survived, bones heal, and there is always people worse off.

I love you Zahir. You're the best thing that has ever happened to our family.

Cheers,
Tio Kenny
(Photo taken by Diego Topete)