- Nhung Truong, 44, was body slammed during a robbery in Houston on February 13.
- The assault left the single mother-of-three with a spinal cord injury and needing round-the-clock care.
- Her daughter set up a GoFundMe page to help cover medical costs, which has raised over $70,000.
A GoFundMe page for a Texas woman left paralyzed after being body slammed during a robbery has raised over $70,000.
Nhung Truong, 44, was attacked in front of a shopping center in the 9800 block of Bellaire in Houston on the morning of February 13.
Surveillance footage released by the Houston Police Department last week shows the man attacking Truong before running off with an envelope filled with cash.
The attack damaged Truong's spinal cord and left her unable to walk and needing round-the-clock care, her daughter Linh Thuy Duong wrote on the GoFundMe page set up to raise funds to pay for medical costs.
The robber "hit her so hard that it resulted in a severe spinal cord injury," Duong wrote.
"The doctors say that this injury has affected my mother's left leg, currently making her a disabled person."
In an update on Tuesday, Duong said that doctors have told the family that her mother's recovery could take two years or more.
"This means that my mom is unable to work, our family must provide around-the-clock care for her," she wrote.
"This news has been incredibly difficult for us, and it feels like our world has been turned upside down once again. We love our mom more than anything, and we will do whatever it takes to ensure that she receives the best possible care."
Duong thanked supporters for the donations that have come in since the fundraiser was set up three days ago. By early Tuesday, the total stood at over $72,000.
Truong is a single mother to three children—aged 13, 15, and 20—who are all in school. She lost her husband to liver cancer seven years ago, her mother told Fox 26.
The suspect ran off with about $4,300 that Truong had been saving up to pay for a trip to visit her family in Vietnam, the family told the news station.
Houston Police said Truong told officers that the suspect had approached, grabbed her, and tried to take an envelope of cash that she was carrying.
She dropped her possessions on the ground and the suspect had grabbed what he thought was the envelope and began to run away, police said in a news release on Friday.
But when he realized that he had the wrong envelope, he ran back to Truong, picked her up, and body slammed her onto the ground. He then grabbed the envelope containing the cash and fled.
Police said Truong had withdrawn a large sum of cash from a Bank of America on Blackhawk Boulevard before driving 24 miles to the 9800 block of Bellaire.
"It is probable that the suspect(s) were watching the bank and followed the victim to her next location," police said.
Police described the suspect as a Black male in his early 20s, who is between 5 feet 8 and 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston directly by either calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitting an online tip at www.crime-stoppers.org, or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app.
Information leading to the charging and/or arrest of any felony suspects may result in a cash payment of up to $5,000.
Tipsters must contact Crime Stoppers directly to remain anonymous and to be considered for a cash payment.
Newsweek has contacted the Truong family and the Houston Police Department for further comment.
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