Community Raising Funds for Injured Clarksburg Woman
 Friends are raising funds for Becky Dix, who was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident last month. |
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — A lot of people are going to bat for Becky Dix.
Dix, a competitor in the Pat Torchia/North Adams Women's Softball League, had her season came to an abrupt and tragic end. The Clarksburg native was severely injured when she was struck by a car during a scenic motorcycle ride through Southern Vermont on Aug. 10.
Her friends and the local softball community are rallying around her to raise funds for her medical expenses with a softball tournament, motorcycle run and a Go Fund Me page that's nearly hit its goal.
Her friend Ally Nuvallie said Dix and another friend were going to visit the Dorset Quarry swimming hole.
"Just right outside of Dorset, an elderly driver made a left turn into a residential driveway, and the driver didn't see her," Nuvallie said. "She was hit and thrown 35 feet and hit the ground near a fence line."
Nuvallie said Dix sustained significant blood loss, had road rash on the left side of her body and suffered gashes in her left forearm and thigh. She also broke her femur and fibula, and her ankle was completely mangled.
Nuvallie said Dix would have bled out at the scene if it was not for a car behind her containing a doctor and a nurse.
"They were able to stop the bleeding just long enough for the paramedics to arrive," Nuvallie said. "They knew to call a helicopter right away because she would not survive the ride."
Dix was flown to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, where she was stabilized. Unfortunately, the doctors could not save her foot.
"They found that the tissue surrounding her foot started to die so they made the decision to amputate the left leg right below the knee," Nuvallie said.
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Dix is eager to start her rehabilitation process and "ready for anything," said Nuvallie. "She keeps telling us, 'Hang in there, guys, I am going to be OK., "
Nuvallie has created the Go Fund Me page called Dollars for Dixie where people can donate.
"I have been setting $1,000 increments right now, and I am hoping to get to $3,000," she said. "I am $490 away ($210 as of Thursday) ; Becky is so important to everyone and it is amazing how much support she has received."
Other friends are organizing the "Team Becky" Co-Ed Softball Tournament and Motorcycle Rally.
The tournament on Sept. 21 will be held at Fallon and Alcombright fields starting at 9 a.m. On Oct. 4, her friends and supporters plan a motorcycle rally with a 9 a.m. registration starting from the Greylock Community Club.
"She has two passions — softball and motorcycling," said Tim Sunn, who knows Dix as a competitor in the Torchia league. "This honors both of them."
Last week, Sunn was passing out flyers and signing up competitors during the league's playoffs.
Entry in the tournament is $15 per individual or $150 per team with a 15-player maximum; five members of each team must be females. The deadline to register is Sept. 20.
"Although Becky has been nearly bedridden since the time of the accident, she has maintained an unbelievably positive outlook," reads a letter that Sunn passed out along with the flyers. "She has been battling an infection and continues to push herself every day to overcome the challenges she has been faced with.
"Becky has shown tremendous courage and perseverance as she undergoes multiple surgeries every week to clean out her wounds and continues to strive toward reaching physical therapy goals one day at a time."
The softball tournament already has two sponsors — the Greylock Community Club and South Side Sales and Service of North Adams. Sunn said he is hoping to find more sponsors and donors and welcomes co-ed softball teams from throughout the county. For more information, call Sunn at 413-672-8217.
Nuvallie said she is in constant contact with Dix and despite her injuries and loss she remains in high spirits.
"Her spirits are remarkably high, and I really don't know how she came though this," Nuvallie said. "The doctors were really nervous about telling her they had to remove part of her leg. She told them, 'I could be dead right now; it's just my foot.'"
iBerkshires staff writers Steven Dravis and Jack Guerino contributed to this report.
Tags: benefit, go fund me, motorcycles, softball,
