On November 16, 2022, the life of every member of my family was changed forever. While Ubering home to Orlando from Gainesville with our father, my sister Daniela (Dani) Feijoo, 20, was in a horrific accident. Their vehicle was impacted by a truck, sent spiraling across the highway, and finally crashed into the traffic barrier. While our Dad did not suffer life-threatening injuries, my sister was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition.
The critical impact of the crash caused a Level A spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed — without feeling or mobility — from the chest down. She suffered a comminuted displaced fracture of her T5 vertebra, and the displacement of her spine was so severe that her T4 vertebra moved completely behind her T5 vertebra.
On Nov. 17, Dani underwent spinal reconstruction surgery in an attempt to realign the spine and fix the displaced fractures using T2-T8 fusion using screws and rods. The surgery revealed that the very center of her spinal cord, though stretched and damaged, is indeed intact— a miracle in itself.
On top of her injury, over the past week, Dani has been faced with numerous complications caused by the impact of the accident. She has needed two chest tubes to drain blood and fluid that has built up in the lungs and complicated respiratory abilities. As a result of this fluid buildup, Dani has also faced a serious fever — causing extreme discomfort.
Additionally, the doctors found a ligamentous sprain injury from C2-C7, AKA her neck, and wounds to the scalp.
To say the least, the recovery journey has been nothing short of incredibly painful and emotionally and mentally difficult.
Somehow, through it all, Dani has shown immense positivity and faith that she will regain mobility— making it abundantly clear that this is only the very start of her journey. While we are confident in Dani’s strength and ability to recover, we know she will still have painful physical and emotional scars to deal with for the rest of her life.
As a family, we are researching alternative options, procedures, and more, to do anything we can to help her heal and give her the best chance of a full recovery. If you have any advice or words of encouragement, please feel free to leave a message here or reach out to either me at 407-780-0331 or directly to Dani at 407-733-7930.
Right now, she is asking for prayers. Any love, light, and support that can be radiated her way will be received with all the love and appreciation we have. If you chose to donate to this page, her family and I thank you and will be putting the proceeds directly towards Dani’s extensive medical expenses, therapy, rehabilitation, out-of-pocket procedures and treatments we are looking into, and the around-the-clock care she will be needing in the future. Visitors are more than welcome, even if you are not close with Dani. She has been beyond appreciative of everyone who has come to see her, it really brightens her day.
