VALDOSTA — A fund has been created to help cover expenses for a Lowndes County woman who was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident in April.

The fund will benefit 42-year-old Shelby Rinkle, who was transported to Shands by an area Life Flight program after she was injured in the accident, and has been recovering ever since. After about four weeks at Shands, she has been transferred to Select Specialty Hospital in Gainesville.

The Shelby Rinkle Benefit Fund will help her husband, John Rinkle, with medical bills as well as expenses to transport Shelby to and from physical therapy when she returns home.

John Rinkle was relieved to report that Shelby has been off of a ventilator for one week as of Friday. Her lungs have begun to clear and physicians have reduced the size of Shelby’s tracheotomy tube.

Shelby remains paralyzed from the chest down. She is limited in her hand movements as well. While she still cannot move her legs, she can feel them now. Shelby is also able to talk again.

Since the accident, John has not been able to work steadily at either of his two jobs — Chem-Dry or The Salvation Army. The couple’s 16-year-old daughter also missed days of school to travel to Gainesville to see Shelby Rinkle.

“Such an occurrence really makes you realize how drastically your life can change within minutes,” John said.

The accident that left Shelby injured occurred around 8:05 a.m. Friday, April 24 on Glenn Road.

A Georgia State Patrol spokesperson said that it appeared she lost control of the vehicle due to an overcorrection. The vehicle overturned several times, the spokesperson reported, and the driver was left pinned inside when it came to a rest.

A team of experts from Lowndes County Fire and Rescue was dispatched to the scene to extricate Shelby, who was the only person in the vehicle, the Georgia State Patrol spokesperson said.

Anyone interested in donating to the fund for Shelby can visit Park Avenue Bank and mention the Shelby Rinkle Benefit Fund.