Among the small glimmers of hope to come in the immediate aftermath of theChamplain Towers condo collapsein Surfside, Florida was the heroic rescue of mom Angela Gonzalez and her teenage daughter.
Gonzalez suffered a broken pelvis when she plunged four floors, from the ninth to the fifth, last Thursday,WFORreported. But despite her injury, she and Deven, 16, were pulled from the rubble.
“My daughter played volleyball with Deven and I set this up as a way to help the family,” Kim Kaplan Marchena tells PEOPLE. “We didn’t do it to get [media] attention, we just wanted to help.”
The Gonzalez family.GoFundMe
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Gonzalez, a mental health provider who works with underserved communities, has been intubated while she recovers, the page said.
Deven, a Miami Senior High School varsity volleyball player who hopes to be a college and professional player one day, has undergone surgery for her broken leg.
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Because the “close-knit” family is not yet ready to talk, Gonzalez’s best friend Joslyn has been sharing daily updates to the GoFundMe page.
Joslyn’s first update on Friday noted that Gonzalez was intubated but stable.
“They believe she will make [a] long but full recovery,” Joslyn wrote. “They are both truly miracles.”
On Saturday, Joslyn reported that Gonzalez was still intubated, but “she was responding to my questions and opened her eyes a couple of times. She’s one tough lady!”
“They are letting her sleep so her body can concentrate on healing,” Joslyn wrote. “She is responsive when asked questions so that is great news.”
With dad Edgar still among the missing, older daughter Taylor, who works in the hospital industry, has stepped up.
“Taylor is a champ! She has so much to process, yet has been so strong for her family,” Joslyn wrote. “She has been a comfort for Deven/Angela. She has taken on the caregiver role for her sister… Taylor is managing everything with so much strength.”
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Wednesday that the death toll in the tragic collapse has risen to 16 people. Another 147 people remain missing, while 139 people have been accounted for.
source: people.com
