The Story

It was a night like any other night in Echo Park. The moon, partially obscured by fat tufts of cotton-colored clouds, reflected shards of soft light off of the lake; ducks, their dirty feathered necks tucked into their wings, slept on the little center island in the water; and everywhere the majestic palm trees that define Los Angeles swayed in the warm evening breeze.

Unlike every other night, however, an excitable girl named Greta Back walked through the park with her equally excitable friend, Jessica Gelt. Greta had just moved to the city of fallen angels from Seattle and had hit the ground running. By her third week in L.A. she had scored three waitressing jobs. But she had also been in a small car accident and suffered the death of her grandmother.

She kept a game face anyway, inspiring her friends with her upbeat attitude. Greta had a few obsessions. One was art and the other was climbing a particular palm tree in Echo Park. The tree was not straight and tall. It slanted out over the park’s grass at a 40-degree angle before curving abruptly upward, like the crook of a giant elbow. The tree gave Greta no rest. She was going to climb it come hell or high water.

And on that night in May she did. Jessica took pictures as Greta raced up the tree like some kind of perfect Tarzan. She was form and function and assured athleticism until all at once she wasn’t. There was a fall, a baritone thump, and then silence as Greta made sure she could move her limbs.

The tree was unmoving. The moon glittered on the lake, the clouds drifted in the breeze. Greta, however, was changed forever. And now she needs your help to change back.

~ Jessica Gelt

Greta is always looking for fun and most of the time she makes it herself. On this particular night she did just that. Upon discovering a palm tree overlooking a part of her neighborhood in LA (one that locals call “The Invitation” because of how fun it looks to climb) Greta decided it was her turn to climb. It took her no time to get to the top, but when she got there she realized how high she was due to the slope of the ground below the tree. She got scared. She tried to stabilize herself and slide down, but, being that it was a palm tree, there were no branches to grab onto. That’s when she fell out of the “The Invitation.”

Greta was falling with her back to the ground so she put her arms and leg behind her so as not to land on her back. They definitely broke something if not her fall. Jessica came running over and found that Greta’s elbow was dislocated. They went to the hospital and they promptly fixed her elbow and sent her home. The next morning she woke up in terrible pain. She couldn’t move anything! Everything was swollen and black and blue (she says she looked like an avatar). The poor girl couldn’t even go to the bathroom by herself. So, two days later she went to the emergency room because something was obviously wrong. Greta found out that her right wrist was not only dislocated, but very broken. In addition she fractured her ankle and broke both elbows. She had to have surgery on her wrist (I screw and 3pins) and her left elbow (a pin and screw). She had casts on both her arms and her leg.

Being that Greta moved to California only a few months ago she doesn’t qualify for any of the low-income aid that the state provides nor can she apply for aid in her former state of residence, Washington. This leaves Greta in quite a bind (no pun intended).

Thankfully Greta’s $85,000 hospital bill and all outpatient therapy is being covered by California healthcare! Still, her monthly expenses, such as rent, car payment, insurance, pet costs, etc., are adding up. We have created this website to help Greta out in this time of need. All you have to do is click on the PayPal link and give whatever you can. And in return for your show of support Greta will create a custom drawing for you with her left hand (Greta is right-handed by the way)! This is a wonderful help to Greta not only as a means of income, but it also provides her therapy and creativity as she heals

~ Meegan Corcoran