I don’t know this woman, but she is one of the many volunteers that helps build Black Rock City (the temporary city of Burning Man) and the community is rallying to help bring her home.

She was in a motorcycle accident in India and is in a coma.  Funds are being raised to fly her back to the states, if there is any way you can help, please do.   If you are in/near NYC there is a fundraiser tomorrow night for her.  For latest info and details, go here.  (Despite the initial request below, help in getting quotes on air medical transport is not needed at this point, and she’s been moved to a hospital that is providing better care. She is breathing on her own!)

Together, we CAN make this happen

To help: go here

http://friendsofhollis.blogspot.com/

Hollis and her boyfriend in India at the start of their trip

Hollis and her boyfriend in India at the start of their trip

This is the letter from Hollis’ boyfriend who was there at the time of the accident:

Hello friends and family,

So as many of you know, and many of you don’t as I have not even talked to you in a while.I am in the midst of a crazy tragedy here in southern India. I was travelling with my sweetheart Hollis by motorcycle and the worst possible scenario has unfolded. She was in an accident that took a freak turn and I will spare you the gory details (and they are gory) but end result, she is in a coma with the most serious injury one can sustain. She has a serious brain stem injury. This is the part of the brain that controls and is connected to everything. The accident happened at 11:30 am on Tuesday Feb. 24th, it is now 5:30 am on Monday March 2nd as I am writing this (I don’t sleep).

This is what’s going on… The treatment she is receiving is okay, for India. There are however huge rats scurrying about on the floor. I am sleeping on the ant covered floor outside her room as I am not allowed in and the water they have used for many procedures is not even purified.

Today as the final straw they would not allow her own mother who has just flown here from Tennessee with emergency support from the US consulate to see her own daughter when she inquired. She has been allowed some of the time but they sort of shame you/are mean to you to make you not ask for visitation. They are not observing her brain pressure and have done nothing to alleviate the swelling in her brain. These are things that can make or break her early on in her recovery and healing process. Her chances are slim. Her chances are slimmer here in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, India.

So we miraculously got her accepted to Stanford which is one of the best hospitals in the world. Also, as a charity case which is very rare, since she has no insurance. So what we need now is to get her there. I am reaching out to everyone I know to help us get an ICU Plane (a.k.a. air ambulance) to fly her back to California. Anyone who knows anyone with a plane we could rent or has anybody in the Air Ambulance industry or a doctor who could volunteer their time to come and get her and fly her to Stanford and reduce the cost… those things would be amazing.

The reality of the situation is that we need to raise $150,000 dollars, now for the quote we have.
[so far we’ve reached $20,000] There is a blog that Hollis’s best bud Eliza (from her bicycle dance troupe the SF Derailleurs) started: www. friendsofhollis. blogspot. com and it has a donate button on it. I would like to urge everyone to give something to this button even if it is 5 dollars and then pass it on to everyone they know. Hopefully we can all figure out a way to give $1,000 whether it be by sheer generosity or organizing a fundraiser where ever this reaches you.

Send it to people who know her and send it to anyone who is a compassionate person and knows what its like to lose a bright brilliant star of a person. She is an amazing performer, heart, bicycle and food activist and so much more, in San Francisco (and everywhere) and we need to do everything we can while we have the possibility, to bring her back. It was crazy to go through my contacts to select everyone to send this to and see the amount of amazing people who are no longer alive on it and how badly I don’t want to add her to this group. Please help however you can even if its just keeping her in your thoughts and sending healing energies and endless love. You can write me with any questions or support or call/text anytime, day or night.

Thank you more than anyone can be thanked, for everything you have all done so far, you have kept me going in my darkest hour. Please forward this on. Put it on myspace, facebook, your blog, craigslist, tribe, tell everyone.

love and teary thanks,
Harrison

Life is precious, Never waste it.