Shaker diver Bailey Wind and her family are amazed by the support they have received since she was seriously injured in a Dec. 1 accident on the Northway near the Twin Bridges.
“I’m so thankful,” said Wind. “There are no words to express how thankful I am.”
“It’s overwhelming,” added Wind’s father, Bob. “I can’t believe how big people’s hearts are.”
The latest show of support came Sunday when Wind’s Flip and Rip Diving Club teammates gathered at RPI’s Robison Pool for a two-hour dive-athon to raise money to cover Wind’s medical expenses. Early estimates put the dollar amount at more than $10,000 in pledges alone. More money was raised through T-shirt sales.
“We’ve had donations from California and Kansas — just the weirdest places out of nowhere,” said Mohonasen diver Kelly Moran, who organized the “Dive for Bailey” fundraiser.
Wind attended the event wearing a neck brace that was keeping her surgically-repaired spine aligned. Several of her vertebrae fractured when the vehicle she was riding in with her boyfriend, Shenendehowa senior Chris Stewart, and friends Matt Hardy and Deanna Rivers — both Shen students — was hit by a car driven by Dennis Drue as they were driving north in Halfmoon. Stewart and Rivers died in the accident, while Wind and Hardy suffered multiple injuries.
“A lot of people thought I was going to be paralyzed, but I’m thankful I’m able to move around,” said Wind, who also lost several teeth in the accident.
Wind and Hardy spent several days in the hospital recovering from their injuries. While they were there, each of them received phone calls from their sports heroes. New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow called Hardy and later sent him an autographed helmet, while Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin called Wind.
Wind said she missed Franklin’s first attempt to call her because she didn’t have her phone, which was broken in the accident.
“Eventually, she did reach me and we had a nice long chat — maybe as long as 30 minutes,” said Wind.
The reason Franklin and Tebow knew to call the injured student-athletes was a Twitter campaign that started locally and went viral within minutes on the social network. Thousands of Tweets featuring “#TebowCallMatt” and “#MissyCallBailey” were sent until they made the calls.
“I didn’t know the Twitter thing was going on because my phone broke in the accident,” said Wind. “When I got ahold of a phone and saw what happened, I thought this was crazy.”
The local support grew from there. Shaker students wore green the Monday following the accident in support of Shen, and Shen students returned the favor the next day by wearing blue for Shaker. Several other area high schools followed suit with either Shen green or Shaker blue. Students and their families from around the region attended a Dec. 4 vigil at Shen’s Steuerwald Stadium.
“As devastating as it was, it was very uplifting to see everyone come together,” said Niskayuna diving coach Liz Slavin. “This was something that impacted so many people because they knew those kids.”
“It’s unbelievable because we’re rival schools,” said Wind. “And even other schools around the area that had no connection to us showed their support.”
Moran wanted to do her part for Wind, so she came up with the idea of having a dive-athon. Soon, she had commitments from more than 50 divers across eastern New York.
“I thought of the idea on a Monday, and in like five days it was a big thing,” said Moran. “It was just crazy how quickly it evolved into this.”
Whitesboro junior Emily Deck was one of the divers who traveled more than an hour to participate in the dive-athon.
“Bailey’s been such an amazing diver,” said Deck, who is also a member of Flip and Rip. “I just knew I had to be here.”
Slavin said she wasn’t surprised to see the turnout for the dive-athon.
“One of the great things about the diving community is even though they compete against each other at things like Sectionals, they come together and cheer for each other through Flip and Rip,” said Slavin.
Wind spent much of her time at the dive-athon on her feet saying hello to friends and giving each of them a smile and a hug — something her family didn’t think was possible two weeks earlier.
“We’d never imagined it in the (emergency room) that night that she’d be up and about in about a week,” said Bob Wind.
Moran said she was also surprised at how well Wind was doing.
“When I heard that she was walking around and was going to be here in person, I just cried,” said Moran. “I thought she’d never dive again. I’m just so happy that she’s here.”
However, Wind admitted she missed being on the diving board herself.
“I miss it a lot just by watching them dive,” said Wind. “I just want to get back on the board.”
Wind said that day will come. The University of Tennessee-bound senior has been informed by her doctor she will make a full recovery.
“I’m going to take it slow at first and see what happens,” said Wind. “I’m just thankful that Tennessee is still willing to let me dive for them.”
And everyone who knows Bailey Wind is thankful she is still around and doing well.
“We can fix everything. That’s how we’re looking at it,” said Bob Wind.