Community raises $20k for Hamilton family still in hospital after Sunday crash
'I don't know how to take their pain away,' says family member who started the fundraiser
Community donations in support of Nicole Constandinides and her son Maddox have reached $20,000 since a family member started a GoFundMe page for them earlier this week.
Nicole Constandinides and her 10-year-old son Maddox have been in the hospital since they were struck by a car on Ottawa Street North on Sunday afternoon, leaving them in critical condition.
Husband and father Sean Reid was walking with them down the street when, according to police, a "driver lost control of the vehicle" and left the roadway, hitting them on the sidewalk and leaving the husband and father crying for help. The driver meanwhile fled the scene.
While many neighbours heard his screams from nearby houses and rushed to help, the mother and son were rushed to the hospital by emergency services.
Following multiple surgeries, Constandinides remains in hospital in a medically induced coma and her prognosis is unclear, Sean's cousin, Eric Reid told CBC Hamilton.
Maddox has stabilized but remains in hospital for treatment and rehabilitation, where his father has been going to support his family and help his son take his first steps after the crash.
Eric said that he knows his cousin is focused on helping his family heal and standing by their side after the terrible incident but he wanted to do something to help them.
"I work full time, I make decent money and I know how much I struggle with just the day-to-day life," said Eric, who set up the fundraiser Tuesday.
"I wanted to make sure that they had one less worry on their mind. I don't know how to take their pain away."
By Thursday afternoon, donations had surpassed the original goal of $5000 and reached over $20,000.
Eric said that Constandinides normally works 12-hour shifts at a local factory and he knew that on top of dealing with the devastating aftermath of the crash, the family should be able to focus on healing.
The goal of the fundraiser was never a specific financial number, Reid said, it is more about supporting the family as much as possible for rent, food and things like that.
"There's no anticipation of how long she's going to be in the hospital and she worked a full-time job... They were just scraping by with that," he said.
"If they didn't have to worry about rent for six, perhaps 12 months, that would be something that I'm sure would be beneficial for them to help kind of get them back on their feet and try to take next steps on putting the pieces together."
Eric said he is speechless looking at the amount that has been raised to support his cousin and the family through this time.
"I'm very thankful that the community is showing itself in a different way than it often portrays itself, you know on TV or on the news, when you see just negative news all the time," he said.
"It's welcoming. It's very nice."
Several messages of support were posted on the fundraising page from members of the community and other family members.
"You have an army of support behind you. We love you all so much," wrote one person.
"Thinking about happier times just a few weeks ago at the lake. Hopeful we have more of these ahead very soon," Eric wrote when he launched the page.
Eric said he has been in touch with his cousin to offer support and ask if it was okay with him to initiate the fundraiser, but he is trying to give him the space and time he needs to sort through the nightmare that he is dealing with.
"I mean, I do want to help but I also don't want to cause more havoc for him," he said.