
"It is unbelievable, my family is so appreciative of everything."
A South Okanagan family is reeling after tragedy struck, and their community has rallied around them in a massive display of support.
The Jones family of Osoyoos is comprised of two parents and nine siblings. Brooke Fuller, 20, is one of those siblings, who took to GoFundMe and social media this week for help after her little brother Gavin, 16, was in a terrible car accident with her father.
Gavin was airlifted to BC Children's Hospital in critical condition, with severe internal bleeding a collapsed lung and frontal lobe damage.
Their father was also injured, though not as severely, but enough to be out of work for the foreseeable future.
In the midst of the tragedy, Fuller realized her family would need some way to sustain themselves while her father, the family breadwinner, is off work recovering.
"I was a little bit hesitant about [the GoFundMe] at first because I've never really done anything like this before. But people just jumped into action to help out my family, and I was in tears," Fuller, 20, said.
Within less than 24 hours of the GoFundMe going live, the community rallied beyond her belief, with more than 320 donors contributing north of $41,000 to the family.
"My whole family is just so grateful," Fuller said.
She describes her little brother, who is still in a coma and fighting for his life, as "a sweet and loving young man," who loves basketball and soccer, and dreams of being a palaeontologist when he grows up.
"They're still unsure about his brain activity. So we're still just playing the waiting game," Fuller explained.
He will remain in a coma for the time being to let his body and brain rest.
In the meantime, her father has a long road to recovery and their family is trying to stay close to Gavin in Vancouver, where expenses are high.
Any money raised from the GoFundMe will go towards that, and to recovery costs down the road.
"I just wanted to make sure that all my parents' worries were put to the side so they could focus on the matter at hand, which is just getting better and focusing on Gavin," Fuller said.
"I just want to say thank you for everybody reading this, donating, sharing, etcetera. My family is so appreciative. I am so appreciative. I'm so proud of small town Osoyoos. Everybody's there for everybody. And it just makes me so outrageously happy ... My prayers and good thoughts are going to him and his recovery and I hope everybody else will do the same."
Find the GoFundMe online here.