A young woman named Emily Daddona, who is recovering in Boston after being hit by an alleged drunk driver, is getting tons of support from neighbors.
Her family told WPRI she suffered severe injuries, the outlet reported Thursday.
A GoFundMe page created for Daddona said she was initially left in critical condition, comatose, mechanically ventilated, and suffered brain swelling.
Meanwhile, Sharron Furtado, who leads the Fall River-based Firefighters Wives Association, got to know the young woman’s family members when she helped plan a fundraiser for her.
Not long after the wreck, Daddona’s apartment building burned down and when Furtado heard what happened, she wanted to go the extra mile to help.
“I feel like they’re family and they feel like I’m family to them because we’re trying to help each other,” she stated.
In a social media post on Saturday, the Firefighters Wives Association announced it would have fundraising bracelets for the young woman:
However, Daddona must continue in rehab for approximately one year to continue her recovery.
“She has a long road ahead of her. She has to learn to do a lot of things over again,” Furtado noted. “She’ll be going to keep going to rehab as an outpatient and adjustments need to be made at her home where she’ll live.”
As of Friday afternoon, the GoFundMe page for Daddona had raised $44,212 of its $150,000 goal.
Several others are hosting fundraising efforts for the young woman as well. “She’s got all these people coming together in the community that don’t even know her,” Furtado explained.
The Firefighters Wives Association shared a recent update from Kathleen M. Owen Daddona, who expressed thanks for the support:
“I can’t say enough how extremely overwhelmed I am at the prayers, cards, food, gifts, thoughtful messages to me to give me strength, monetary donations and continued support you have graciously given and continue to give personally of yourself for Emily and our family,” she wrote.