LONDONDERRY — Friends and family of a Londonderry college student who was involved in a serious bicycle accident while studying abroad want to bring her home.
Lauren Rauseo, a junior at Stonehill College, was involved in a serious accident on March 17 while visiting Spain. Rauseo was studying abroad in Paris during her spring semester.
Stonehill College confirmed the accident in an article announcing how Rauseo had been awarded a grant of $3,000 from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program to help support her studies.
“The suddenness of this catastrophe has left Lauren’s family, and all of us who love her, grappling with the profound sense of helplessness,” said Helen DeCosta. “Being thousands of miles away has only intensified our anxiety and desire to do something-anything-to aid in her recovery.”
DeCosta is organizing one of the GoFundMe pages dedicated to giving Rauseo family financial support while they are in Spain. The other page is organized by Ryan Desmarais on behalf of Rauseo’s father, David Rauseo.
By Tuesday evening, the fundraiser organized by DeCosta had raised more than $196,000. Desmarais’ page raised more than $60,000.
According to an update, Lauren Rauseo has been taken out of the medically induced coma. The goal of the two fundraisers is to med-flight Lauren Rauseo to a Boston hospital to continue her care.
“Lauren still has a long journey ahead of her, but she is a fighter,” said Desmarais. “Her parents are hopeful she will be able to physically be in a position to be med-flight to a hospital back home in Boston within the next couple of weeks.”