Janet Weiss, the former Sleater-Kinney drummer who also plays with Quasi and Slant, was in a serious car accident earlier this month, forcing her to cancel all remaining tour dates with her bands. Now her sister, Julie Weiss, has organized a GoFundMe to support Janet’s medical bills, as well as her nursing care, physical therapy, a wheelchair ramp for her house and monthly expenses while she’s temporarily off of work. The fund is asking for a total of $25,000 and has already reached nearly $17,000, as of Tuesday.
Weiss was injured in the accident on August 10th, near her house in Portland, Oregon. According to the GoFundMe page, Weiss suffered a broken left collarbone and fractures to both her legs. (Her partner Drew Grow, who was in the car with Weiss at the time of the accident, came away with a broken rib.) The drummer had to have emergency surgery, and was given doctors orders that her right leg must be completely non-weight-bearing for the next 12 weeks. Because the broken collarbone made it impossible for Weiss to use crutches, she has been wheelchair-bound since the accident and off of work from her day job as a location manager for films and television programs.
“[Janet] has said many times since the accident that she is so lucky to be alive and that she dreams of playing the drums again,” Julie Weiss wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Her attitude is strong, she will work as hard as she can to make this happen. Let’s face it, IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. But none of this is possible without some unavoidable costs and she could really use support from her community as she regains the strength to play the drums with the power and beauty we’ve all been so fortunate to hear over the years.”
Weiss notably announced her departure from Sleater-Kinney earlier this year. She contributed drumming to their latest record, The Center Won’t Hold.