Every parent dreads “the call”. Being woken out of deep sleep to answer a phone call from the hospital calling to say your child has been seriously injured in a car accident is the fear of every parent. On June 11th, Debbie Fritz received that call informing her that her daughter Shelby Carion, age 29, was rushed to UC Davis Medical Center and was being placed on a ventilator to keep her airway open. This defining moment has changed forever changed Shelby’s life and of those who love her most, her mother Debbie, her brother Alex, her father Chris and many family and friends.
Shelby and her friend SiSi were involved in a one vehicle accident in Placerville near Missouri Flat Road at 11:30 pm on June 10th. Thankfully SiSi was conscious after the accident and was released from the hospital with minimal physical injuries. CeCe has no memory of the crash. A passerby saw the vehicle and called 9-1-1. Shelby was trapped and first responders used the jaws of life to extricate her from the car. Shelby was mildly conscious upon arrival at the hospital but testing showed she has a traumatic brain injury of the frontal lobe. She also fractured her femur and awaits surgery, but that is on hold until they can be assured Shelby is stable enough for the procedure. She had deep lacerations to her legs and one eye but gratefully the rest of Shelby’s face, her arms, hand and feet were not affected. For now she has been placed in a medically induced coma and they are working to reduce pressure in her brain. In time, the doctors will begin to ease up on the medications and wait to see how she responds. The hope is that she will wake up and then doctors can determine the true extent of her neurological injuries.
Shelby was born in San Jose and moved to El Dorado Hills at the age of six. She attended Lake Forest Elementary School, Marina Middle School, and graduated from Granite Bay High School. As a child she enjoyed dance and performing in musicals with El Dorado Musical Theater. But it was soon apparent that Shelby’s great talent is art. She is an amazing painter and wanted to make a living as an artist. She decided to begin learning how to design tattoos. At the time of the accident Shelby was employed as a tattoo artist at Lucky Buddha in Sacramento and she has a great number of regular clients and is a featured artist at tattoo conventions throughout the country. Her work can be viewed on her Instagram page @Shelbi_tatz. There are countless photos of the custom designs Shelby made for her clients.
Shelby has a long road to recovery and there will be mounting bills for her physical, emotional and long term care. She currently lives with her mother Debbie and their dogs in a house they co-own. Debbie, a hospice nurse, is devoted to being Shelby’s caretaker. This is a tragic life changing situation for Shelby and her family. This fundraiser account in support of Shelby will help with the mounting bills that will be accruing for her treatment and long term recovery care. Please feel free to give a donation of any amount which will be greatly appreciated and used only for Shelby’s care. Please keep Shelby in your thoughts and prayers. We are grateful for the El Dorado County first responders and her amazing medical team at UC Davis Medical Center.
