Jasmine Mayer, 22, was paralyzed after a large tree limb struck her while she sat outside with a friend during a Santa Rosa windstorm, her father said.

Jasmine Mayer, 22, was paralyzed after a large tree limb struck her while she sat outside with a friend during a Santa Rosa windstorm, her father said.

GoFundMe/Jasmine Mayer

A 22-year-old Santa Rosa woman was paralyzed after a large tree limb struck her during a powerful windstorm that swept through the Bay Area earlier this month, her father said.

Jasmine Mayer suffered catastrophic injuries when the branch fell while she and her best friend were sitting outside near Steele Lane Elementary School, her father, Andy Mayer, said in an interview.

“She was knitting and talking to her friend, and the branch came right down on them,” Mayer said. “We’ve talked about it since. There’s no anger. There’s no drunk driver. It’s just an unimaginable incident.”

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Emergency crews treated her at the scene before taking her to a hospital, Santa Rosa officials said at the time.

A GoFundMe page organized by family friend Lauren Kelleher says Jasmine suffered a severe spinal cord injury, fractured vertebrae and broken and bruised ribs. Her lower body is currently paralyzed, though the fundraiser said she has begun to feel some “pins-and-needles-type sensation” returning to her legs and feet.

Jasmine Mayer, 22, was paralyzed after a large tree limb struck her while she sat outside with a friend during a Santa Rosa windstorm, her father said.

Jasmine Mayer, 22, was paralyzed after a large tree limb struck her while she sat outside with a friend during a Santa Rosa windstorm, her father said.

GoFundMe/Jasmine Mayer

Mayer said his daughter was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where she has undergone surgery and continued treatment for extensive injuries.

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“Her injuries were catastrophic,” Mayer said.

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He said doctors found internal bleeding and later treated a blood clot. Jasmine also returned to the operating room for additional cleaning of her wounds Wednesday, and doctors expect to graft skin to cover some of the injured areas, he said.

“It’s nothing unexpected with the severity of her injuries,” Mayer said. “Her tissues and skin got pretty shredded.”

Doctors are also fusing some of Jasmine’s disks, he said.

Mayer said his daughter’s spinal cord was not completely severed, and he is hopeful that her condition can improve with time and rehabilitation.

“She’s paralyzed from the waist down. Time will tell,” he said. “I’m hopeful. She’s hopeful. She’s going to work hard on her recovery.”

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The fundraiser says Jasmine survived with help from a friend, emergency responders and surgeons at UC Davis Medical Center. Donations are intended to help pay for emergency care, rehabilitation, mobility equipment, transportation, an accessible vehicle and housing changes as Jasmine and her father prepare for a long recovery.

Mayer said his daughter is covered through his health insurance, but the family expects costs that insurance may not fully cover, including specialized spinal cord injury care and equipment.

“Our goal is to get her the best possible equipment,” Mayer said.

He added that Jasmine has remained upbeat despite the seriousness of her injuries.

“She’s such a strong, positive kid,” he said. “She’s been kind to everyone through the pain. She’s been a positive person, and that hasn’t changed at all.”

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The branch that struck Jasmine fell during several hours of dangerous winds that sent Santa Rosa police and fire crews across the city. Officials said crews responded to more than 15 wind-related calls, including downed trees, fallen power lines, blown transformers and a tree that fell onto a vehicle.

Santa Rosa recorded gusts above 40 mph during the storm, city officials said.

In a separate incident that same day, a 61-year-old man was killed after a falling tree branch struck him in the 800 block of Howard Street. 

The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory covering the North Bay interior mountains and other elevated parts of the region, calling for gusts up to 50 mph, with isolated gusts up to 60 mph.

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For Jasmine and her family, the sudden accident has become the start of a longer and uncertain recovery.

“The road ahead will be long as she moves through the stages of recovery, physical therapy, and adjusts to a new normal,” the fundraiser says.