Almost a month after a fatal collision that injured three Cal Poly students and left art and design junior Keilani Waxdeck in a medically induced coma, Waxdeck was weaned off her IV medication and awaken from the coma, according to Waxdeck’s family.
Art and design junior Erica Kemp was driving art and design junior Mariana Silverman and Waxdeck when her car was hit head-on by a driver who swerved over the yellow line coming around a blind corner. According to Kemp, Waxdeck still cannot control her body temperatures or breathe on her own and will be having her second to last surgery on her lower legs this week.
“It never escapes me what Keilani’s condition is. It’s always in the back of my mind,” Kemp said. “Even when I walk to school with earphones in, I just think about her.”
Kemp just started back at Cal Poly last week, but said she feels like something is missing without her close friend’s Silverman and Waxdeck, who were in her car.
“It felt good to try to resume, but now I’m here without them,” Kemp said.
Silverman suffered broken ribs, a fractured hip and a fractured arm and will not be returning to Cal Poly this quarter because she is unable to write and walk, according to Kemp. However, Kemp said Silverman plans to come back in the fall.
“She’s showing fast recovery though and she’s doing physical therapy,” Kemp said.Waxdeck continues to see support on Caring Bridge and on her Go Fund Me page that has reached $78,166 in donations as of Tuesday, April 30.
More than 3,000 people are following a Caring Bridge page with updates on Waxdeck’s recovery. As of April 28, an update said that “glimpses of her personality are beginning to shine through.”