Pua Wong, 23, remains in the intensive care unit at The Queen’s Medical Center after she suffered severe injuries Friday when she crashed into rocks while sliding in the snow on a bodyboard at the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii island.
Wong sustained numerous fractures, including a couple to her skull and a big laceration across her head. She also suffered fractures to her collarbone and ribs, as well as a tibia fracture.
A GoFundMe account has been created to help Wong with medical expenses. The account helped raised $130,000 as of Monday afternoon.
Her boyfriend, Kawika Roman, has thanked everyone for their overwhelming support. “She’s just an amazing person,” he said Monday in a phone interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser from Queen’s. “Whoever comes into contact with her, they can feel her aloha.”
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 the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy, also known as Hale Pohaku, where medics from the Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area treated her. She was transferred to a county ambulance and taken to the Hilo Medical Center. Wong was then medevaced to Queen’s that night.
Roman said he was heading home from work at the time of the accident when one of Wong’s family members called him and told him what happened. He immediately drove to Hilo Medical Center and was by her side as soon as the ambulance arrived.
Wong underwent surgery to her left leg and left forearm Sunday at Queen’s. “I just want Pua to get better,” Roman said. “Right now she’s heavily sedated.”
Wong is a college and career readiness teacher at the Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School on Hawaii island.
She graduated from Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii in 2015 and attended California Baptist University, 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.
Help needed
Donations to help with Wong’s medical expenses:
>> Pua Wong GoFundMe
