Heather Bell
RADFORD – A Radford single mother of three is continuing to recover after being hit by a car while riding her bicycle to work in December.
Areli Mendez, of Radford, was bicycling to work at night on Dec. 14 when she was hit by a car on Route 11 in Pulaski County. She was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she stayed for weeks recovering from multiple broken bones, deep wounds and other injuries. Two fractured vertebrae, broken ribs, and a broken fibula, right hip, and right pubic bone, a concussion and brain bleeds are the most significant of those many injuries. From the hospital, she went to rehabilitation center before returning to her Radford apartment in mid-January.
Mendez has no health insurance and cannot work due to her injuries, and bills are mounting up. Her close friend, Jae De La Mora, has taken in Mendez’s children while she recovers and is a daily constant in Mendez’s life, providing meals, transportation to appointments and the like, as well as keeping her spirits up. Just getting her in and out of her second story apartment is a challenge, but De La Mora says Mendez is facing all of the trials and tribulations of this life-changing series of events like a champion.
“I’m incredibly amazed by the resilience and strength of this woman, she is tiny but mighty,” she said. “Ask many times I’ve seen her complain, or cry from the pain? None. It kind of puts things in perspective, right?”
De La Mora has created a go fund me account for the community to help Mendez and her children. She has an 11-year-old-son and two daughters – 16 and 8 years old – who attend Radford City Schools.
“Areli has three children, as a single mom she has already seen her share of suffering and has singlehandedly kept a roof over her kids heads, food on the table and always a job, always working,” said De La Mora in the Go Fund Me description. “She lives like many of us, paycheck to paycheck. Aside from medical bills, she also has rent to pay, utilities, and all the bills that are coming her way.”
“Areli is the epitome of putting her children first, excellent work ethic, tackling every obstacle that has been in front of her every single time,” she continued. “If you find it in your heart to help her and her children, please contribute any way you can. One dollar at a time, one share at a time, we can show her and her children that we care and they’re not alone. There is nothing we can possibly do, to right this tragedy, but we can certainly help her give her peace of mind that she won’t lose her place because she didn’t pay rent. Or she won’t be able to provide for her children. Let’s prove her how much she matters!”
To contribute to the Go Fund Me, log onto https://gofund.me/90245ffa.
