CONCORD, N.H. — A 22-year-old New Hampshire woman is paralyzed after being attacked at a concert Sunday, she told Boston 25 News from her Concord hospital bed.
Maddy Audet was enjoying a concert put on by hip-hop star Pitbull at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford with her sister and friends when someone accused of her of stealing her drink, the recent college graduate said by Zoom Wednesday.
Audet denied stealing the drink but offered to buy another one, she said, when a large man in the group suddenly attacked her.
“He climbed up, like, three flights of stairs, upper-cut me in the face. I flew, like, five feet in the air, and I was unconscious on the ground,” Audet said from her Concord hospital bed. “And that’s when the girl got on top of me and started whaling me in the head a couple times as well.”
Audet had suffered a concussion. She remembers parts of the altercation, but her friends and sister helped her and police fill in the pieces.
After waking up in an ambulance, she underwent several tests. Doctors would later tell her she had undiagnosed blunt force trauma to her spinal cord. Audet is paralyzed from the waist down, and it is unclear if she will regain feeling and mobility.
“I’m hoping this is something I can come out of. The doctors, they can’t say yes, and they can’t say no,” Audet said. “So, I’m taking this as, I guess, it’s how hard I want it.”
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Police are investigating the case and reviewing footage of the incident. They have identified suspects, Audet said, but had not made any arrests by Wednesday afternoon.
“I want [the suspects] to learn and take from this and hopefully use it to grow and be a better person,” Audet said. “A drink can be replaced, but somebody’s life or legs cannot be replaced.”
Audet may be transferred to another hospital for a second opinion, she said. Then, she could head to a long-term rehab, if needed.
She is hopeful she will recover. A veterinary technician in Henniker, Audet was planning to apply to veterinary medicine school in the next two weeks. But she is confident her dreams are not dashed, only put on hold.
“I’m trying to be hopeful,” Audet said. “This happened for a reason to me. Maybe God gave it to me because I’m strong. He knew I could go through it.”
Police said the incident is still under investigation.
“This is a serious incident, and we are really concerned about her and her injuries,” Dep. Chief Kris Kelley told Boston 25 News
Supporters had raised more than $6,000 through a GoFundMe account by Wednesday night to help Audet cover her medical bills.
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