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Yakface, thanks for giving me the green light on this.

On the evening of May 27th, my friend Alix and another friend of ours went out to get ice cream and on the home, she took a wrong turn and was caught in the crossfire of a shooting. A bullet hit her in the neck, destroying the c3 and c4 vertebrae. She's paralyzed from the neck down and now relies on a ventilator to breathe. For more information go HERE.

Our friends here in Columbus have really pulled together to help take some of the burden off her and her family, financially and otherwise. Local musicians, artists, and business owners have all chipped in. A friend even contacted Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, and Kevin Smith all of whom got the word out to their fans.

Remarkably she's in good spirits and we're all very thankful that her greatest joys in life won't be lost to her thanks to her vivid imagination. Bottom line is: being a nerd is going to help her deal with this. In fact I would have never even spoken to this stunning little brunette had I not overheard her trying to drunkenly explain "Drow" to someone at a party. She gets giddy over D&D, Tim Burton, Dr. Who, Lovecraft, X-files, Star Wars, etc. You get the picture. That's why I'm posting this here. She's one of us.

Her boyfriend and local artist, Dan Lerner, designed a website with donation and fundraiser information:

PrayersForAlix.com

Endless thanks to D&D artist Larry Elmore (whom Alix loves) for graciously allowing Dan to use one his images for the background!

For those of you attending Origins this year, swing across the street and check out ComFest, Columbus' annual, free, non-corporate, music and arts festival currently held at Goodale Park. We have a fundraiser booth on Park Street between Russell and Millay. We've got art prints, photos and books, t-shirts (one has Cthulhu on it!), buttons, stickers, and a photo of a guy bonging a beer that I found in the parking lot on the way to the booth. There may be other items as the weekend continues. There's suggested contribution amounts for the donated merch, but please give what you can even if you don't buy anything. All profits go towards Alix's recovery costs.

One of Dan's shirt designs:

Elusive,
Are you a member of Bartertown?
If so (or if you want to join), go ahead and post it in the "Miscellaneous" forum over there. I'm giving you a green light for it right here.

Eric

Eric, thank you! I've got to get back to the ComFest tent, but I'll do it tonight.

By the way, my name's Todd. I'll be at the booth tonight, noon-3 and 6-9 tomorrow, and noon-3 Sunday if anyone is in the area and wants to come say hi.

That really sucks.

Has she got any chance of healing?

:( Not really. But considering the pace of modern scientific and medical advancements, I'm hopeful that someday she can take her body back.

131 views, 4 replies.

dakkites...

Donation made.

Nerds look out for nerds.

I have no words...

One minuet your driving along, then in an instant your life is changed forever.

I just don't even know what to say. I'll just have to say it with my pocket book.

Mark-

Donated... Fate is disgustingly cruel sometimes, I wish her the best, and hope she knows that despite her foul luck, friends like you are hard to come by. Good for you looking out for your friend. All the best to you all.

Bookmarked for future donation. What a world we live in...

Thank you so much everyone! I'll be telling Alix and her family about your generosity when I see them.

Tonight went well at ComFest. Never made it over to Origins but a lot of people came buy our booth to check it out. Many donated without buying anything.

One little boy, 9 years old, had seen her story on the news and was so concerned that he wanted his parents to donate the money he had received for his birthday! His parents offered him an alternative by donating some items for us to sell on his behalf with all the money going to Alix. He was happy with that and today his mother drove 45 minutes to take him to the Fest so that he could see our booth. Amazing.

I've posted the link to my facebook and requested friends and family to make donations.

Wow. What an awful turn of luck.

Best wishes to Alix for her recovery, and kudos to a dedicated bunch of friends.

Wow, that's some serious gak man ! I'll definitely bookmark this so I can donate some money, like meangreenstompa said, nerds look out for nerds.

I can't really say I can make a donation, as I've never even used any internet paying system (shameful), but...

I feel sorry for her, having a friend who broke his neck over a bad dive on the beach (and he was, like, super-athletic, he was also a swimming champion on our town). That didn't stop him from staying in his major, Medicine, even though he's tied to a chair.

So, if there's anyway I can help, either by word of mouth or linking to his site, please, do suggest.

I hope everything works out for the best possible.

Thank you for the support everyone, both financially and emotionally!

@ Destrado, that's an inspiring story and I'll be sharing it. Alix had just commited to returning to school when this happened. Once things have settled into a more predictable routine, I'm definitely going to talk to her about continuing her education via online classes and such. There's no reason she would have to give up her goals. They'll just have to take different route maybe. She always wanted to write childrens' books...

Time to head back down to the fundraising booth!

Stanley Rubric wrote:What a world we live in...

Ain't that the truth, still it's good to see people donating to the fund, makes that world seem just a bit brighter sometimes.

Donation sent and my best wishes for future medical technology to be able to help her out.

I am sorry to hear about such a sad thing happening. And I wondered If they ever caught the shooter? I hope so because a person that can do something so horrid to another person should be put away for a good long long time.

Bloodfrenzy187 wrote:I am sorry to hear about such a sad thing happening. And I wondered If they ever caught the shooter? I hope so because a person that can do something so horrid to another person should be put away for a good long long time.

if you click on the link in the first post, you'll find out the answer to your question as well as find the link to donate.

And Elusive71 do please keep us informed if there's any progress.

MeanGreenStompa wrote:I've posted the link to my facebook and requested friends and family to make donations.

I did the same. Good luck with the charity and the future to all those impacted by this.