The Tampa Bay community is coming together to support a young woman who was badly injured while rafting in South America.
- 22-year-old Schuyler Arakawa injured while rafting in South America
- Local businesses raised money for the Tampa native
Tampa native and Yale graduate 22-year-old Schuyler Arakawa was in Peru for a post-graduate fellowship when she went on a weekend rafting trip to Colombia in February. A boulder fell 30 feet from above and hit Arakawa in the head, cracking her skull, collapsing her lungs and breaking multiple bones in her back and legs.
Doctors say it is a miracle she is still alive.
She was airlifted to a Miami hospital and according to a Facebook page tracking her progress, has been moved out of the ICU and into outpatient rehab.
Sunday, Belmora Salon in Tampa held a cut-a-thon and silent auction to raise money for Arakawa’s recovery.
"All of us are here doing this because we just really want to do something special for someone,” manager Alexa Rocha said. “And she is a complete stranger, but everybody that cares for who she was and what she’s done for other people, you want to be one of those people.”
The salon offered $25 haircuts and $10 blow-dries all day. Local businesses donated more than 40 items for the silent auction.
“You just can’t help but want to be a part of it, she was truly touched by miracles,” Rocha said.
"It’s an awesome thing to get together and help somebody, who is such, I heard a young and talented girl who has reached out to help other people and get everyone together for a good cause I think,” customer Jaime Bach said.
To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/ztq2n4r8
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