Jaylen and Ashlee’s Medical Expenses

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United States

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Following from left to right is Ashlee, Jaylen, Brianne, and Sophia. Brianne, their mother, is raising all three while also working fulltime to support them. Jaylen (16) attends Red Bank High School, is a member of ROTC and is also a cheerleader. Ashlee (12) attends Red Bank Middle School and is a member of multiple school sports programs: volleyball, softball, and wanted to try out for basketball as well next school year. All this while also maintaining exemplary grades. Then there is (The Mighty) 2 year old Sophia.

Since Spring began, the weather in Chattanooga has been an almost constant downpour. That steady, constant downpour of rain was in full effect Thursday, April 27th, as Jaylen drove her sister and herself to school early in the morning. They were traveling North, along Highway 27, just approaching the Signal Mountain road exit when their car hydroplaned. The vehicle spun, but Jaylen was able to quickly (and safely) bring the car to a complete stop, while also avoiding wrecking their car or striking any other vehicles. Jaylen, trying to process what to do next, remained stopped. At that moment, two separate good samaritans who had witnessed the girls and were notably concerned, stopped to assist them. The first good samaritan turned on her van’s flashers and blocked the lane so that the second good samaritan could safely get to the girls and diagnose what he could do to help the situation. Once parked in front of the girls and out of his car, he set about making sure the girls were physically ok. After diagnosing that everything was functionally sound with their car, he offered to help move them to the shoulder of the road, so that they were out of harm’s way and could process what to do next from relative safety. Jaylen and Ashlee, still noticeably shaken, exited the vehicle and were instructed to quickly and safely get to the shoulder of the road while he moved their car. While the driver side door was still open and he was quickly relaying those instructions to the girls, a 4th car struck the van that was blocking their lane for them. The impact was devastating. The van struck both girls, throwing Jaylen 30 feet into the air and pinning Ashlee underneath.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/clip/13287136/update-two-teens-pinned-under-car-in-us-27-crash

Both girls were immediately taken to Erlanger Medical Center. Jaylen suffered a broken leg; however, Ashlee’s injuries were much more severe. She had a broken jaw, a lacerated tongue in two places, a fractured C1, a fractured clavicle, a fractured lumbar, her pelvis was fractured in multiple places, her right femur was broken, her right ankle was badly sprained and her hands suffered burns from the vans exhaust. Upon arrival at the hospital, Ashlee almost immediately underwent surgery on her femur and tongue. Shortly thereafter, she began displaying new symptoms of possible complications and was transferred to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for closer observation. Unfortunately, in conjunction with extreme pain and the serious injuries from the wreck, she had now developed pneumonia. To protect her and to prevent (hopefully) further complications, she was intubated and put on a ventilator. If her body is able, she will soon have another surgery to wire her jaw shut so that it can begin to heal properly.

Right now Brianne is spending all of her time at the hospital to support and encourage Ashlee’s healing. Once Ashlee is strong enough to be discharged from the hospital, the family’s needs will change significantly. She will require constant bedside care in the first few weeks home. Her recovery will also include extensive physical and occupational therapy.

While Ashlee is an extremely tough young lady, who has a dedicated and loving network of close friends and family, she needs your support too. That’s why we created this space here at chuffed.org. Together we can ensure that Ashlee and her family receive the support they will need for a successful recovery. Please, if it’s only even one dollar, donate, and then share this story. Ashlee, we all love you so much and we’re here with you every step of the way.

5/7/17 Update – Ashlee has continued to show steady improvement over the last couple days. Her ventilator settings have decreased like we had hoped they would. Unfortunately her lungs are still recovering from the damage caused by the pneumonia and ARDS. That means she will require the support of the ventilator for several more days. After discussing the various options with all her doctors, we agreed that the safest plan was to take her to surgery yesterday and place a tracheostomy, which is a breathing tube that it inserted through the lower neck. She did really well with that procedure and was kept on the medicine that paralyzes her, plus all the pain medications and sedation to allow her to have a restful night. This morning, she was taken back to surgery to have her jaw fixed. It went exactly as planned and the plastic surgeon seems very pleased. Her jaw is wired shut and will stay that way for the next 4 weeks. He expects that to heal really well and will just require some therapy to build her jaw muscles back up once the wires are removed. In the meantime, she is still in PICU and now the focus will be on her healing her lungs. Her kidneys have started to show some improvement and should continue to get better in time, without any permanent damage. Once her lungs improve enough, they will disconnect her from the ventilator and just give oxygen through her tracheostomy. Eventually, they will be able to remove the trach and allow the hole to seal itself off. She should have minimal scars. She is continuing to improve, but progress is slow.

Anonymous

8 years ago

$25

Jose Ramirez

8 years ago

$65

Madeline Limerick

8 years ago

$25

David Croy

8 years ago

$50

Anonymous

8 years ago

$25

Anonymous

8 years ago

$50

Lauren Koehl

8 years ago

$50

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8 years ago

$25

Katie Giard

8 years ago

$50

Amanda LaGoo-Tarr

8 years ago

$100

Liana OLTEANU

8 years ago

$50

shari watson

8 years ago

$100

Sarah Weber

8 years ago

$25

Susan Groccia

8 years ago

$10

Melissa Blalock

8 years ago

$50

Laurie Lynn

8 years ago

$50

Lynne Sims

8 years ago

$50

Cynthia Clements

8 years ago

$100

Hannah Wooten

8 years ago

$50

JoCarol Woodburn

8 years ago

$25

Jose Ramirez

Praying and Sending your girls my best wishes.

8 years ago

Brenda Odom

Thoughts and prayers for the girls and the entire family.

8 years ago

Emily Warr

Sending strength and love to Ashlee, Jaylen and the family. I love you all and will be praying for a speedy recovery!

8 years ago

Joyce Mckenzie

I wish you a speedy recovery! God bless you and your family:)

8 years ago

Daggi Ball

Sending healing energy from NJ. Get Better Jaylen and Ashlee! – Ball Family

8 years ago

Vickie Chandler

Thoughts, prayers and hugs!

8 years ago

Ann Thompson

Prayers fro the girls from myself and my girls. We love you all.

8 years ago

Brianne Stinson

Becky McCarter

Brianne Stinson