Donations continue to pour in to supplement medical costs for Big Islander Pua Wong, who suffered numerous fractures, including to her skull, in a bodyboarding accident at Maunakea.
According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Wong remained in the intensive care unit at The Queen’s Medical Center after she suffered the severe injuries Friday when she crashed into rocks while sliding in the snow.
The 23-year-old is a former volleyball and water polo standout at Kamehameha. A GoFundMe account set up to help with medical expenses raised more than $151,000 as of Tuesday evening.
According to an update posted by Malia Wong, Pua’s mother, on the GoFundMe page, her daughter was able to open her eyes Tuesday in response to verbal stimulus. She immediately went back to sleep, and remains in a medically induced coma.
Her boyfriend, Kawika Roman, thanked everyone for their overwhelming support.
“Whoever comes into contact with her, they can feel her aloha,” he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday from Queen’s.
Wong also suffered fractures to her collarbone and ribs, as well as a tibia fracture. Medics responded to the accident shortly before 6:40 p.m. Friday. Wong was with family members and friends when she slid on the snow on a bodyboard and crashed.
Maunakea Rangers brought her to Halepohaku, where medics from the Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area treated her. She was transferred to a county ambulance and taken to Hilo Medical Center. Wong was then medivaced to Queen’s that night.
Wong underwent surgery to her left leg and left forearm Sunday at Queen’s.
“I just want Pua to get better,” Roman said.
Dan Lyons – Wong’s coach with the Warriors when she shared co-BIIF water player of the year with two teammates as a senior in 2015 – has no doubt she will.
“She is an amazing person, a tough, tough person,” said Lyons, who is also on Oahu for a medical procedure. “She’ll pull through and make tremendous things happen as a result.”
Wong is a college and career readiness teacher at Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School.
She played water polo at California Baptist, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, according to the GoFundMe page. She is a volunteer at Hope Services Hawaii Street Medicine and aspires to a career in medicine.
To donate, search for Pua Wong at https://www.gofundme.com
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser contributed to this report