GoFundMe Started For Girl Paralyzed At Bismarck Hotel

A Fun Weekend Turned Tragic

A few weeks ago, on Saturday, April 16th, a 13-year-old girl experienced something very traumatic. Lillyanna Morales was spending her Saturday with friends and family at the indoor pool located inside a Bismarck Hotel.

In a split decision, Lillyanna jumped off the slide to avoid collision after she noticed three other kids going down it at the same time as her. Unfortunately, she dove into the shallow end of the pool, and the outcome was catastrophic.

Lillyana's Condition

The jump resulted in Lillyanna fracturing her C5 vertebrae and bruising her C6 and C7 with an active hemorrhage around her C5 region. After the incident she was immediately air-lifted to Fargo for emergency surgery.

Lillyanna is now talking, breathing on her own, and has mobility of her arms but little to nothing in her legs. She can feel sensation in her legs, but medical professionals told the family that it will be some time before she can walk on her own.

Lillyanna is currently staying in Minneapolis for intensive care.

The Expenses

While Lillyanna was being transported by helicopter to Minneapolis, her mother was not allowed to join in that helicopter ride. She ended up having to take an Uber... Grand total, that Uber ride cost her close to $1000 dollars.

The Helicopter Made An Emergency Landing!

To make matters worse, the medical aircraft hit a bird, damaging the wing of the aircraft, resulting in an emergency landing.

"Lillyanna's Fight" -- GoFundMe

As I'm sure you can imagine, the medical expenses are extremely high, and the family could use a little help. A GoFundMe Campaign was created by Heidi Ripplinger and Alyencia Morales (sister) to help with those costs.

The family also says when Lillyanna is able to come home they will need to get a wheelchair ramp along with other things to help her in her condition.

They are just shy of $2000 toward their $75,000 goal. They are asking the community for support and say every little bit helps.

Silent Auction At Wachter

Lillyana's family plans to host a silent auction this weekend (Saturday May 7th) at Wachter Middle School from 3 to 8pm, for those who want to help.

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