Girl to be treated in U.S. for spinal injury in crash
10-year-old has been unable to move legs since minivan collided with semi in Texas
A 10-year-old girl injured in a collision in Texas that killed three members of her family will receive specialized treatment at a hospital in Sacramento, Calif.
Mehak Minhas will travel to Shriners Hospital for Children — Northern California on Monday, accompanied by family members, including her mother, Jasleen.
“We are very thankful and happy about the fact that she got an opportunity to go, and we look forward to it,” Jasleen told Postmedia on Sunday.
She described her daughter as a strong person who has been surrounded with support since the tragic crash.
“The support, the strength we’ve got from family and friends, has been amazing — I’m really thankful to everybody,” Jasleen said.
“And she’s been my strength. I feel that’s the reason I’m here.”
Six members of the Minhas family were on vacation in Texas in July when their minivan and an eighteen-wheeler collided. Mehak’s father Upinder, 38, his sixyear-old son, Mehar, and 68-yearold mother, Nirmal, died. Jasleen and another daughter, Jupleen, were also injured in the crash but have recovered.
Gurpreet Singh, a close family friend and neighbour, said Mehak suffered a very complex injury involving multiple parts of her lower spine and has not been able to move her legs.
“Obviously, emotionally and psychologically, this is the worst trauma anybody can have,” he said. “The girls lost their father, their brother and their grandma, so it was huge.”
He noted Mehak is also coping with the trauma of being conscious at the site of the crash.
“There are times when they are very emotional, and Jasleen and Mehak are not able to sleep at night,” Singh said. “But there are times when they are hopeful.”
They have other extended-family members in Calgary and friends who have been providing support, he added.
“I think Jasleen is trying to focus her best on recovery for Mehak,” he said. “That’s what keeps her going a bit, that she has a goal to get Mehak better and hopefully have a good life.”
An online fundraising campaign for the family has raised more than $120,000. A Bhangra dancing club that Mehak was part of also held a fundraising event over the weekend.
“The warmth I’ve felt from the community and family and friends has made us feel that we are not alone and they are there with us,” Jasleen said. “I’m really thankful to everybody.”