Helping the Richardson sisters heal
Donation protected
This GoFundMe request serves to benefit two sisters, Malina and Maya Richardson, as they travel a long road to healing, recovery, and self-sustainment.
These young ladies are bright lights in the community, known by all as smart, strong, kind and giving. We are asking that you help us to support them the same way their family has selflessly supported others for years and years.
As many of you know, Malina and Maya are both students at Radford University, and Malina is set to graduate this spring. Their single mother, Dona, is raising them and their two younger sisters, Alayna and Alycia, with very little help. Dona and her four daughters are committed to their faith, their indigenous culture, and to each other. They embody the essence of a close and devoted “FAMILY” that survives in spite of the many challenges they’ve endured.
While on their way home from college Thursday, March 30, 2017, Malina and Maya were involved in a serious motor vehicle accident which, by the grace of God, they survived! A tractor-trailer, possibly driven by someone who was falling asleep at the wheel, pushed them across the interstate and off the road, with their car going airborne and landing against an embankment. The tractor-trailer driver did not stop, but we can only hope that person didn’t realize he had caused the accident.
Malina is in the trauma burn unit at MCV (Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, VA) with critical burns, some fractures and multiple internal injuries. She has a long road to recovery (we are so thankful she is alive).
The family’s medical bills for the trauma care hospital stay, follow-up visits, and rehab alone will be massive. Malina will also be unable to work and support herself for quite a while. Maya came out of the accident with far fewer external injuries. This was a blessing, because Maya needed all her strength to help lift the car off her sister. Our God is an awesome God!
Throughout their ordeal, the testimony of the accident witnesses as well as the medical staff attest to Malina’s and Maya’s caring for one other during the tragic events! Based on the condition of the car, it is an unquestionable miracle that both are still alive. The synchronicity of people and events that God has orchestrated to care for this family is evidence that He is in control- no matter our circumstance, and we are so very thankful.
What many of you may not know is that Maya, for quite a while, has been sick. She suffers from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which affects connective tissue--- primarily the skin, joints, and even blood vessel walls. There are fewer than 200,000 cases in the U.S. yearly. Maya’s condition is progressing aggressively and is affecting her heart, so she has weekly visits to a heart specialist in Northern VA. The trauma from the automobile accident can escalate this progression, as well. Her medical bills are sizeable and the disease forced her to leave her job last summer, because she is in constant pain.
Your contributions to this GoFundMe will go towards paying Malina’s and Maya’s mounting medical bills, which are already in the tens of thousands. Their mother, Dona, has taken a leave of absence from her job to be at the hospital and to take care of her daughters for what may be a lengthy convalescence. We realize that not everyone can give, but please know that every little bit helps and is greatly appreciated. You can donate anonymously online, but if you choose not to, please contact us for an address to make a donation directly to Dona and the girls. And by all means, please share news about this page so that others who may wish to contribute can do so.
We thank you for your concern and consideration, for your financial gifts, and for your prayers.
God Bless You and Your Families!
The Richardson Family
These young ladies are bright lights in the community, known by all as smart, strong, kind and giving. We are asking that you help us to support them the same way their family has selflessly supported others for years and years.
As many of you know, Malina and Maya are both students at Radford University, and Malina is set to graduate this spring. Their single mother, Dona, is raising them and their two younger sisters, Alayna and Alycia, with very little help. Dona and her four daughters are committed to their faith, their indigenous culture, and to each other. They embody the essence of a close and devoted “FAMILY” that survives in spite of the many challenges they’ve endured.
While on their way home from college Thursday, March 30, 2017, Malina and Maya were involved in a serious motor vehicle accident which, by the grace of God, they survived! A tractor-trailer, possibly driven by someone who was falling asleep at the wheel, pushed them across the interstate and off the road, with their car going airborne and landing against an embankment. The tractor-trailer driver did not stop, but we can only hope that person didn’t realize he had caused the accident.
Malina is in the trauma burn unit at MCV (Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, VA) with critical burns, some fractures and multiple internal injuries. She has a long road to recovery (we are so thankful she is alive).
The family’s medical bills for the trauma care hospital stay, follow-up visits, and rehab alone will be massive. Malina will also be unable to work and support herself for quite a while. Maya came out of the accident with far fewer external injuries. This was a blessing, because Maya needed all her strength to help lift the car off her sister. Our God is an awesome God!
Throughout their ordeal, the testimony of the accident witnesses as well as the medical staff attest to Malina’s and Maya’s caring for one other during the tragic events! Based on the condition of the car, it is an unquestionable miracle that both are still alive. The synchronicity of people and events that God has orchestrated to care for this family is evidence that He is in control- no matter our circumstance, and we are so very thankful.
What many of you may not know is that Maya, for quite a while, has been sick. She suffers from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which affects connective tissue--- primarily the skin, joints, and even blood vessel walls. There are fewer than 200,000 cases in the U.S. yearly. Maya’s condition is progressing aggressively and is affecting her heart, so she has weekly visits to a heart specialist in Northern VA. The trauma from the automobile accident can escalate this progression, as well. Her medical bills are sizeable and the disease forced her to leave her job last summer, because she is in constant pain.
Your contributions to this GoFundMe will go towards paying Malina’s and Maya’s mounting medical bills, which are already in the tens of thousands. Their mother, Dona, has taken a leave of absence from her job to be at the hospital and to take care of her daughters for what may be a lengthy convalescence. We realize that not everyone can give, but please know that every little bit helps and is greatly appreciated. You can donate anonymously online, but if you choose not to, please contact us for an address to make a donation directly to Dona and the girls. And by all means, please share news about this page so that others who may wish to contribute can do so.
We thank you for your concern and consideration, for your financial gifts, and for your prayers.
God Bless You and Your Families!
The Richardson Family
Organizer and beneficiary
Kay Richardson Oxendine
Organizer
Hollister, NC
Dona Richardson
Beneficiary