As Canadian Filipino Net wrapped up this current edition, Jillian Mendoza remained under watchful eyes in a Toronto hospital.
Mendoza, who is in her 30s, was seriously injured on February 24 when an out-of-control vehicle backed up at a sidewalk while she was pushing a stroller with two boys under her care.
The Filipino caregiver steered the stroller away from harm’s way, and took the impact from the car.
Mendoza, a single mother of a young girl in the Philippines, was thrown against a storefront window. She was pinned under the vehicle.
The incident happened at a sidewalk on St. Clair Avenue West. The woman has undergone a number of surgeries.
Media accounts state that Mendoza suffered head trauma and broken bones.
The boy’s mother identified only as Allison was grateful for the woman’s selfless act.
“She’s the utmost loving and caring nanny and caregiver and I know she would have done everything in her power to protect them,” Allison told Global News.
Allison’s sons are aged two and three.
Mendoza was a nurse in the Philippines. She left her seven-year-old daughter Ohana with her parents.
The caregiver is expected to spend more time in the hospital. She faces a long road to recovery.
Mendoza’s friend Anney Anna Gonzales of the York region in Toronto started a crowdfunding campaign to support Mendoza and her family in the Philippines.
As of morning Saturday (February 27), the ‘Help Jillian " Hero-Nanny " recover’ campaign on the GoFundMe platform has raised $141,839 from about 2,900 donors.
Gonzales recalled on the fundraising page that Mendoza came to Canada a few years ago.
“I have known her for years and we often go out and have playdates with the children we care for,” the woman’s friend wrote.
“She is a very loving and dedicated mother and nanny who cares so much about her wards. She has so many plans and dreams for her daughter Ohana too. The horrible news shocked and hurt us deeply. “But, as her "Ate" [elder sister in Tagalog, used as a colloquial term here], I wasn't surprised that she acted heroically and saved the lives of the boys she cares for. I know how deeply she loves the children she is taking care of,” Gonzales related.
Moreover, Mendoza is “just in the process of obtaining her residency here in Canada and has so many plans and dreams for her daughter, Ohana”.
“She is also the sole provider of her family. It will be a long road to recovery and I hope that we can help support her financially and through prayers.”
To help support Mendoza and her loved ones, click here https://bit.ly/2Pjqn7x
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