DC Woman With Broken Jaw From Attack Faces Mounting Medical Costs

WASHINGTON, DC — A woman was attacked by a man in Washington, D.C., on April 14 after she rejected his advances, leaving her with a broken jaw, according to a GoFundMe campaign.

Monet Blakey, who needs surgery to repair her jaw, is in between jobs and faces mounting medical debt with a lengthy physical and emotional recovery ahead. The man who attacked Blakey and broke her jaw was unknown to her.

Her surgery, which will involve putting her jaw back together, is scheduled for Tuesday. She will then need to spend six weeks after the surgery with her jaw wired shut.

Blakey's medical care will require a 10-day hospital stay, surgery and outpatient care for the next two months.

"It's not clear what will be covered by COBRA, but you know it won't be enough," the GoFundMe site reads. "Please help reduce additional trauma by donating to help with her medical bills so she can get back to helping students and her family without the burden of debt."

Cait Belney, Blakey's former supervisor in a previous job and a good friend, is organizing the fundraising campaign. When she learned about what happened, Belney told Patch that she knew Blakey, who has always been independent, would hesitate to reach out for help from friends.

Belney then asked Blakey if she could start a GoFundMe campaign for her and Blakey responded, "I'm glad you asked."

Belney was not sure how successful the campaign would be. But she quickly learned the impact that Blakey, who lives with her grandmother, has had on people in the D.C. area when the donations started to come in.

Blakey attended Banneker High School in D.C. and then went to Bates College in Maine.

"I truly don't have the words to express my gratitude. Thank you!" Blakey said in response to the more than $50,000 that the campaign had raised as of Monday afternoon.

Visit the GoFundMe site for Blakey to learn how you can help.