It took just three days for a crowdsourcing page to hit the $10,000 mark to help pay for medical expenses being incurred by Naperville native who was struck by a semitractor-trailer while she was riding her bicycle in Chicago.
Danielle “Dee” Palagi was riding home Sept. 23 from the Easterseals Academy Chicago where she works as a special education teacher at about 2:15 p.m. when she was hit by a semi at the intersection of West Roosevelt Road and South Wood Street in the heart of the Illinois Medical District.
Her father, Larry Palagi, of Naperville, said his daughter had the right-of-way when she was knocked down, landing beneath the trailer.
While the 26-year-old survived, her foot was amputated, she has pins in her fractured pelvis and her elbow needs to be rebuilt, Danielle Palagi’s family said.
Danielle Palagi was the second former Naperville resident to be struck by a car in Chicago in the span of a week. Anastasia Kondrasheva, 23, was killed Sept. 26 when she was hit by a flatbed truck that turning right from Damen Avenue on to Addison Street. The driver was ticketed for failing to exercise due care to a pedestrian in the roadway.
Mike Hubert, who set up the “Support for Dee” GoFundMe page on behalf his co-worker and close friend, was “devastated” when he heard the news about Palagi. “I was in shock and utter disbelief,” he said.
Searching for a means to support his friend, Hubert said he established the crowdsourcing effort and was surprised by how quickly people from across the country responded to his “Support for Dee” page.
“The site got flagged from GoFundMe,” Hubert said. “They contacted me for confirmation because they thought it might be fake or fraudulent (because it raised so much money so quickly).”
That was far from the case. “It was a just a sign of humanity reaching out to someone in need,” he said.
Palagi is facing a long road to recovery and Hubert said he expects the donations will go a long way toward helping offset the cost of additional surgeries and physical therapy.
He said he fully expects to surpass the $20,000 mark, and will reset the goal once that happens.
Hubert, who visited Palagi Friday, said despite what’s happened, she is managing to encourage others.
“It is just amazing how positive she is. She is pushing people around her who are overwhelmed as she continues to be positive,” he said.
To show support, Easterseals Academy held a special Support Dee Day on Friday with all the administrators, staff and students wearing Palagi’s calling card: bright, uplifting headbands.
“It was such a great idea. We took photos with the teachers and students and brought them to show Dee,” Hubert said.
The effort really cheered her, he said.
It’s been a rough week for Palagi, who went through several surgeries at Stroger Hospital in Chicago, where she is receiving care, her aunt Colleen Misdom said.
“Her spirits are good. She already is setting goals for herself,” Misdom said.
Friends can track the young woman’s recovery process on CaringBridge.org by searching “daniellepalagi,” she said.
This week her cousin Terry Viehl reached out to the Brookdale community in Naperville, where Palagi grew up, to ask for prayers and financial support.
Palagi is a 2008 Waubonsie Valley High School graduate who was active in pom pons and Orchesis Dance Company throughout high school.
Viehl also said a prayer service for healing is planned on Palagi’s behalf at 7 p.m. Monday at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 1500 Brookdale Road in Naperville.
A fundraiser also is in the works for Oct. 17 at the Buffalo Wild Wings on 75th Street in Naperville.
The family also is encouraging the Naperville community to send cards and messages of encouragement. They should be mailed to her parent’s house – 1528 Preston Road, Naperville, IL, 60563 – so they can be hand delivered to Danielle Palagi.
Palagi’s GoFundMe page can be found at www.gofundme.com/support4dee.
Twitter @SBakerSun1
