Parents should never have to call their kids cell phone and have an ICU nurse answer instead and say “you need to pull over right now, I have to tell you something” and then tell you your kid was in a vehicular rollover. But “never” is always a broken promise.
DASH friend and bonafide curmudgeon Rusty Eyeball (AKA Shawn Boland) had to endure these exact events when his daughter, a freshman at Chico State University, was in a horrific car accident. Maisie Mae broke her spine at C5 & C6 and is a quadriplegic. Despite the extreme damage to her spinal cord she is working tirelessly to regain as much function as possible and to master what function does return. She is both pragmatic and fierce, realistic but hopeful and it is humbling to watch her work, millimeter by millimeter, towards some semblance of independence and a new version of happiness and wholeness.
In her honor, we have constructed the Maisie May Vehicle Survival Kit. At DASH our expertise is bugging out, but we’re more flexible than gumby dammit, so we pivoted to build a DASH-worthy kit specifically designed for a vehicle accident. Anyone can buy a straight up medical kit, but there are situations that require more than just bandages. Besides a trauma pack, first aid kit, and a compression bandage, the Maisie Mae comes with a vehicle escape tool, a flashlight, water, energy bars, a mini survival guide, a whistle to signal for help, hand warmers, a blanket, and even an inflatable pillow. It comes in a blaze orange bag so it's easy to find in a bad situation.
We feel this is a kit every teen and young adult should have in their car for that “just in case” moment. Because no parent ever wants to get that call.
All proceeds of this kit will go directly to support Maisie's medical care.
The Maisie Mae inventory:
Vehicle escape tool
Trauma pack
Compression bandage
Tourniquet
Basic medical kit
4 Face masks
4 Hand warmers
Blanket
Poncho
Inflatable pillow
4 Water packets
2 Energy bars
Multi tool
Flashlight
Whistle with matches
Mini survival guide
