Three Palestinian college students walking last week in Burlington, Vermont were shot at close range by a man who had been sitting on his front porch and walked off to shoot them. The New York Times, which has the story in detail, says that while two of the students are expected to recover completely, Hisham Awartani may never walk again because a bullet has lodged in his spine.
The NYT story was published on Nov. 29, so it doesn’t explain one very interesting detail. The family of Hisham Awartani wrote a gofundme page which, with 13,000 donations, quickly reached its goal of $900,000. They have now raised the goal to $1,100,000 since that is the estimated first year cost of helping Hisham recover.
Here is what the gofundme page says about Hisham and his injury:
On Saturday, Nov 25th, 2023, Hisham — a 20 yr old junior at Brown University — and his childhood friends Kinnan and Tahseen were walking to Hisham's grandmother's house for dinner in Burlington, Vermont, when all three were shot in an unprovoked attack.
We are thankful that all three will survive this attack, and Hisham's friends are expected to make a full recovery. For Hisham, however, one of the bullets that struck him is lodged in his spine and has left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Hisham's first thoughts were for his friends, then for his parents who were thousands of miles away. He has demonstrated remarkable courage, resilience and fortitude - even a sense of humor - even as the reality of his paralysis sets in.
They continue with the needs the fund will meet:
This fund is intended to help cover the costs associated with his recovery - the long and uncertain rehabilitation needs, as well as providing Hisham what he needs to enable him to change the world for the good, as we know he will.
These expenses include rehabilitation, but also on-going costs of his care and adaptive living needs. Though we anticipate some expenses being covered by insurance, there are vast financial needs that will not be. This fund is intended to address those needs. The family has received estimates of more than $1 million in the first year alone to cover anticipated costs associated with rehab, adaptive considerations, travel and more.
In conclusion, they say a gift large or small will be “a deeply meaningful act of solidarity with Hisham and echoes our belief that he WILL change the world for good.”
More details are also available from an excellent article in NBC News.
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UPDATE: Dec. 6 by Family and Friends Of Hisham
To everyone who has offered their love and support to Hisham, we are humbled and overwhelmed by your care and generosity. We are happy to share a video of Hisham leaving the wonderful confines of UVM Medical Center - where he received amazing care - on his way to his spinal injury rehabilitation center to begin the next phase of his recovery. His family and friends remain in awe of his calm determination, strength and steadiness. We’ve been told it may be some time before we understand what the long-term prognosis is.
We have received estimates (from Christopher Reeve Foundation and Kelly Brush Foundation) that the costs of an adaptive life (including both short-term and long-term needs) may total more than $2.8 million. That is a staggering number. We are grateful that some of his immediate medical needs may be covered by insurance and by other offers of support. We are establishing a foundation that will ensure that Hisham's expenses can be covered and that he and the family can begin the work of paying it forward, supporting those much less fortunate that Hisham - including those suffering within the devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where few have access to life-saving medical treatment, food and water.
The worldwide support of the GoFundMe has blown us away and reflects the fact that love always overcomes hate. Always.
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As of 4:45 pm Wed. Dec. 6, gofundme had raised $1,318,408 from 17,900 donations and raised the goal to $2 million. A brief video on the gofundme page shows Hisham leaving the hospital.
As of 10 pm January 24, 2024, gofundme had raised $1,659,798 of their $2,000,000 goal from 21,600 donations. Picture of Hisham sitting up and a message from his mother that he will be living in his Brown University dorm next semester, taking with him very expensive equipment he has been using at the rehabilitation center near Boston. His mother writes:
One example is a functional electrical stimulation bike: he will use this to keep his lower-body strong, improve his bone density, and increase his aerobic fitness. These bikes are over $10,000.
Once back at college, Hisham will continue to work on his body while educating his brain. In the months after a spinal cord injury, the body is trying to heal itself aggressively, so Hisham needs to work hard at rehab. However, insurance only covers limited therapy sessions for outpatients. The type of nerve rehab Hisham needs is not covered by insurance. (Going for three hours a week will cost around $1,500 a month.) However, thanks to your donations, he will be able to afford it and will go to a specialist rehab gym at least three times a week.