Loyola student crowdfunds to restore her smile

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Olivia Garcia singing at an opera recital. Garcia sang in front of her class on Oct. 19, 2017. Photo credit: Sidney Holmes

Sidney Holmes

Vocal performance senior Olivia Garcia loves to sing, but she could have lost her chance to do that forever after a car accident almost took her life.

Garcia said she was driving her motorized scooter down Carrollton Ave. towards St. Charles Ave. on Sept. 21, 2015. She stopped at a red light on the corner of Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues, and when the light turned green, she was t-boned by a car.

She said that she had to be resuscitated back to life. When she woke up in the hospital, she wasn’t able to see out of one of her eyes or speak.

“When I realized I couldn’t speak, I knew something was wrong,” Garcia said.

Garcia suffered many injuries, including liver laceration, fractured pelvis, a broken arm, severe lacerations on her hip, and road rash on her body.

Out of all of her injuries, she was most worried about the loss of her tooth and other injuries to her face that came from landing face down on the street.

“I was really afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to sing like I knew I could,” Garcia said.

Over several months, Garcia said that she visited many doctors and racked up a large amount of medical bills that she could no longer afford on her own.

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Garcia started a GoFundMe to raise money. SHe passed her goal on Oct. 22, 2017. (Screenshot from GoFundMe.com)

 

On Oct. 10, Garcia started a GoFundMe to raise money for her tooth repair.

She said she wants to use the money to repay her parents for her many doctor visits and to get her final tooth implant.

Her goal was to raise $6,500 by March, but she passed her goal in less than two weeks.

Her GoFundMe campaign was shared over 400 times and received donations from almost 90 people.

“It warms your heart knowing that this many people want you to succeed,” Garcia said.

Now that she has reached her goal, Garcia said that she wants to complete her tooth repair so that she can perform in the Loyola Opera Theatre production of Dialogue of the Carmelites.

The show premieres in March 2018.