Community rallies around Palm Desert boy who had leg amputated
Hundreds of valley residents came to support 10-year-old Adrian Grajeda at a fundraiser held at The Slice in Rancho Mirage. A capacity crowd sat in the dining room while several others waited patiently, all for Grajeda. “Just kind of makes me feel like I’m getting supported so much,” said Grajeda, while sitting in a wheelchair at the restaurant.
Last month, Grajeda was on the playground at Lincoln Elementary school when a car crashed through the fence. Debris from the crash hit him, badly injuring his leg, forcing doctors to amputate it below the knee. Just this weekend, he got cleared to go home. “Really, really nice,” said Grajeda. “I couldn’t sleep in the hospital. It was horrible.”
Doctors say he’s come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go. To help with the big medical bills, the doctor’s office his mother works at teamed up with the restaurant to raise some money. “The little boy looks in really good spirits, we’re hearing good reports on his medical progress,” said Dr. William Hoolihan, whose office helped sponsor the event. “So, we think he’s coming along fine.”
“He’s just a happy-go-lucky kid,” said Jack Srebnik, the owner of The Slice. “He’s like every ten-year-old we want in this world and he shouldn’t be going through this. But, we have to do the best we can to make his life a little easier.”
People from all over the valley came to show their support, some who’ve never even met the ten-year-old. And others like Joel Rojo and his family. Rojo’s son plays in the same soccer league as Adrian. “Just imagine a kid his age, a great athlete and now his life is going to be a lot harder, just because of this accident,” said Rojo.
The fence at the school recently got fixed so kids could play in that area again. Dr. Hoolihan’s confident the soccer star will get out there and join them again someday. “It will play out for him,” said Hoolihan. “He will play again.”
The Slice will continue to accept donations for Adrian through the weekend.
