DELAND, Fla. – Julie Tindel’s life was changed forever following what her family called a freak accident.
Tindel, 24, was in the ICU at HCA Florida Lake Monroe Hospital after she was pinned by a truck and tree as Nicole blew through.
[TRENDING: Florida flight diverted after man accused of threatening passengers with box cutter | Father calls for answers after 18-year-old daughter found fatally shot in Sanford | Become a News 6 Insider]
Her mother, Shelly Tindel, and the rest of her family are holding onto hope that one day soon, she will be able to return home.
“Nature can be horrible sometimes,” Shelly Tindel said.
Last Thursday, Shelly Tindel received some unexpected news.
“I had a knock on my door, saying, ‘Your daughter’s been in an accident, come to the house,’” she said.
At the time, Julie Tindel was walking out of her uncle’s Orange City home to grab her medicine from his truck.
“Her life just changed within walking out the door,” Shelly Tindel said.
She added that harsh winds caused a tree in the front yard to crash to the ground.
It knocked Julie Tindel over and she laid face down on the ground.
Shelly Tindel said the tree picked up the truck after bouncing off the ground. Moments later, Julie Tindel was pinned under both the tree and truck.
Her uncle rushed out of the house after he heard the crash and tried to keep Julie Tindel conscious.
“She kept saying, ‘I can’t feel my leg, I can’t feel my leg,’ and he just kept her talking,” Shelly Tindel said.
Shelly Tindel said Julie Tindel was under there for nearly an hour.
After crews worked to lift the tree and truck, she was rushed to the hospital.
“By the time she got there, she had no blood. She was, like, living on adrenaline,” Shelly Tindel said.
It was too late to save her leg.
“She has lost her whole leg, her hip socket, her hip, her buttocks and shattered her pelvis in a million pieces,” Shelly Tindel said.
At last check, Julie Tindel was in a medically induced coma.
Her family was devasted, especially since she is a new mom of her 1-year-old son, Samuel.
“I know she’s thinking about him every second. She’s a good mom and good daughter. I just can’t,” Shelly Tindel said.
The family created a GoFundMe to raise money for Julie Tindel’s medical bills.
Besides donations, Shelly Tindel is also asking for prayers.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: