COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Several fundraisers have been put in place to help former Texas A&M volleyball player Jillian (Phillips) Hunt, who suffered a fractured spine while attending a family reunion during the Memorial Day weekend.
Although Jillian did not suffer paralysis from the inflatable water slide accident and is expected to make a full albeit slow recovery, mounting medical bills, which include the cost of fusing vertebras at the base of her neck, are estimated to reach $100,000.
Jillian was not covered by medical insurance as she and her husband, A&M former student Bryan Hunt, had been back in the United States for only two weeks after spending the previous 11 months abroad, doing volunteer mission work in Uganda, Africa for six months and then working miscellaneous jobs while traveling throughout Australia for five months.
A Paypal account has been set up at http://bit.ly/JillianHuntMedicalExpenses, where people can make direct donations. Also a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/proverbstwentytwonine?notif_t=page_new_likes has been created to keep people updated on fundraising efforts such as concerts and T-shirt sales.
In addition, a benefit concert is planned for August 4 at Bryan Icehouse on Lake Bryan. It is slated to be an all-day event with a sand volleyball tournament, a washer tournament, bands, food and beverages with profits going towards Jillian’s medical bills.
Jillian, who will tell her story during a live interview on KZNE 1150 AM on Wednesday at 9:20 a.m. with TexAgs Radio host Gabe Bock, was a middle blocker for the Aggies from 2005-08. From Marble Falls, Texas, Jillian graduated from A&M in May 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in university studies business with a double minor in communications and sports management.
She and Bryan, her high school sweetheart, were married in June 2009. Before leaving for their mission trip in June 2011, Jillian worked for two years in sales and catering at the Hilton College Station and Conference Center and Bryan was a social studies teacher at Harmony Science Academy in Bryan.
For more information on the fundraising efforts, send an email to jillianhunt09@gmail.com.
