Her daughter was injured in school but the school said it wasn’t responsible so she called Help me Howard. But the legal system was not in her favor, but 7News viewers once again stepping in and showing their generosity. Here’s 7s Patrick Fraser.
WSVN — Rochelle Hartley was nearly a straight a student at Piper High School. A junior who loved to learn.
Rochelle Hartley: “It’s different in the stuff they teach, how they teach it.”
Then in her band class in October, a student blew his Baritone into her ear.
Rochelle Hartley: “And all of a sudden I feel this huge force in my ear, and my ear starts hurting really, really bad.”
As days and weeks went by, instead of getting better, the pain got worse.
Rochelle Hartley: “Walking from this room to the bedroom, I have to hold on to places so I don’t lose myself or fall or faint.”
Rochelle couldn’t walk from class to class and had to stop going to school. She was no longer a straight A student.
Judith Lim: “The grades began to fall, so we were introduced to f’s.”
Judith took her to doctors trying to find out how to end her daughters nightmare. The bills reached $10,000. She had no insurance, no money, and Howard told her there was no chance of getting the school district to pay her doctors bills.
Howard Finkelstein: “The school would be responsible if they were negligent in supervising the students. In this case, it was an accident, meaning the school is not liable.”
Then our story aired, and the concern in South Florida was remarkable.
Aryeh Fraser: “I turned around and told my wife, ‘Hey, I’m helping this girl out.’ and She said ‘What are you going to do about it?'”
Aryeh owns Fraser Property and Adjusting, a public adjuster that helps homeowners after a disaster hits their homes. He often buys 15 minutes of air time on WAVS 1170 in Davie to advertise his business. He called the station owner.
Aryeh Fraser: “I’d like to dedicate my 15 minutes to get a campaign going for this girl, and the radio station told me they would not give me 15 minutes, they would give me an hour.”
An hour later, and after some phone calls to friends, Aryeh had $4,000 to hand to Judith.
Judith Lim: “I did cry too and he gave us a check first of all because I was out of cash.”
And others stepped up to help Rochelle as well.
Judith Lim: “This young man he called us and said I’m so sorry about what happened. He sent us a $200 money order.”
From cash to cups of soup.
Judith Lim: “I call them my senior angels, and they went and brought us soup.”
Rochelle is also getting help from the Goldson Spine Rehabilitation center.
Dr. Fidel Goldson Jr., Chiropractor: “And as Rochelle came in, not just myself but the other doctors here, the whole staff we accepted her. We did our best to try to help her.”
Dr. Fidel Goldson brought Rochelle into his medical facility for free treatment.
Dr. Fidel Goldson Jr., Chiropractor: “She is a sweet girl, one of the sweetest young ladies you are going to meet. When I got to interact with her, she makes you want to help her.”
Their treatment plan is working, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Rochelle Hartley: “I feel good that people are contributing to help me get back on my feet, back to normal.”
And people continue to keep Rochelle in their thoughts. The women’s group at the church La Casa del Señor in Kendall put together an enormous basket of house supplies.
Ambar Rodriguez: “The women’s group at the church heard.”
People cared and are still caring. Fraser has raised thousands to pay Rochelle’s medical bills. He still wants to finish paying them off and if you want to help, you can.
Aryeh Fraser: “You can call us and make a pledge and we will match it. Our campaign initially and for what Rochelle needed was $10,000 for medical bills so that is our goal.”
A little girl needed a lot of help. A lot of Help Me Howard viewers wanted to help.
Judith Lim: “Thank you. I have to hug you. I have to hug you.”
And I am not related to that Mr. Fraser, but what a great guy, what a great group of people stepping forward to help. And as Areyh said, legally Help Me Howard couldn’t do anything. Our hands were tied. But then the people in South Florida lended a hand to help. A lot of nice people.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
E-mail: helpmehoward@wsvn.com (please include your contact phone number when e-mailing)
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN