Local Woman Injured In Pool Accident Honored As 'Angel Of Hope'

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — The community continues to come together for a young East Quogue woman badly injured in a pool accident in 2019 — and for other faced with traumatic brain injuries.

Dana Barrett, 31, born and raised in East Quogue, suffered a severe spinal injury in the accident. After being airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital it was determined she suffered a C2 fracture, resulting in paralysis from the neck down and the inability to breathe on her own.

This summer will mark two years since Barrett has been living at The Brendan House, a long-term facility for those with traumatic brain injuries and other cognitive and physical disabilities located on Sound Avenue in Riverhead.

According to Allyson Scerri, founder of New Beginnings and the Brendan House, an upcoming event will honor Barrett, as well as her two aunts, who are her caretakers — and raise funds for a new indoor therapy pool at the facility.

The "13th Annual Denim & Diamonds Golf & Gala" is slated to take place on Monday, June 13 at the Westhampton Country Club, located at 35 Potunk Lane. The event kicks off with a brunch at 10:30 a.m., followed by golf, a cocktail reception at 6 p.m., and dinner, dancing and awards beginning at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets, click here.

The location for the fundraiser has great meaning: Scerri grew up in Westhampton and attended school there, as did her children; her son is good friends with Dana. Scerri's father worked in the area with his construction company, she said.

The goal is to raise funds for the pool, which, Scerri said, will benefit so many patients as well as caregivers. Aqua therapy, she added, can help with coordination, balance, posture, flexibility, strength, endurance, heart and lung function, relation and much more.

To build the pool, $100,000 is needed she said. Currently, there are architectural plans and permits in place.

The aqua therapists will also serve as physical therapists at New Beginnings, she said. New Beginnings Community Center is a Medford outpatient facility designed to provide rehabilitation, management and recovery for community members with traumatic brain injury, physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities or dementia.

Barrett inspires all who know her, Scerri said.

"Dana amazes me every day. Her strength and endurance is so motivating to many," she said. "Seeing her happiness living at the Brendan House makes my heart so happy."

Barrett's two aunts, Pamela Carroll and Susan Small, will also be honored as caregivers of the year, "because they are doing such a great job with Dana," Scerri said.

Carroll and Small's sister Lisa, Dana’s mom, passed away when Dana was 21 years old; she lost her father when she was just 16.

"Dana continues to astound and impress those around her," Carroll and Small said, thanking New Beginnings for providing her the space to do so.

As for Scerri, seeing Barrett flourish is greatly rewarding. Her son Allyn Daniels, when Barrett was first injured, came to his mother to ask if she could help his friend.

"I told him I need to wait until the family is ready. It was then I put in a generator and met the Bayada Home Health Care team. It was then I knew we could help people on ventilators," she said.

The young woman's road has been difficult even before the tragedy, a GoFundMe page after the accident said.

"In Dana's 28 years of life, she has been through more than most can comprehend. As many of you reading this already know, she lost her father when she was 16 and her mother when she was 21 years old. Despite this, she has always held her head high and has amazed her friends and family with her strength and selflessness. With every trial she has faced, she has always come out stronger."