By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — Six months after Emilie Gossiaux was struck by an 18-wheeler while riding her bike in Brooklyn — resulting in severe brain trauma that left her blind and battling multiple serious injuries — the Cooper Union art student is already back pursuing her passion amid a painful recovery process.
Gossiaux, 21, a New Orleans native now living in Stuyvesant Town, suffered a stroke immediately following the incident, as well as a fractured femur, nerve damage and swelling in her abdomen that required major surgery.
The road to recovery since has been long and difficult, her friends and family said, but it hasn't kept her from trying to get back to making art, despite the loss of eyesight.
"For the most part she's really stoic and determined. She doesn't put up a fight and refuse to get out of bed," said her boyfriend Alan Lundgard, noting that she has already begun practicing writing with right hand, which was badly damaged due to the stroke, as well as some light sculpture work.
"She's incredibly motivated to get her life back together. That's what she's doing despite all the difficulties. I think she has hope she can put it all back together some way."
The skull fracture she suffered from the collision caused optical nerve damage, leaving Gossiaux blind in both eyes, with only a 5-percent chance she could regain vision in one eye, explained Lundgard, who's known her since high school.
In addition, Gossiaux was born with a degenerative hearing disorder that left her mostly deaf in both ears, but she received a cochlear implant last year prior to the accident to improve her condition.
Now, as a way to raise money for a second implant, as well as help pay for the mounting medical bills facing Gossiaux's family, the Cooper Union is hosting an art auction April 23 with the goal of collecting tens of thousands of dollars for the cause.
"Everything happens here on a very personal level," said fellow Cooper Union art student Rachel Appel, 21, a student council member who's spearheading the auction and said she hopes to raise $30,000 for Gossiaux and her family.
"It's not just work, it's not just grades. There's definitely a community here that wants to be supportive."
Appel added that the sheer amount of artwork produced by Cooper Union students, as well as pieces by graduates now working in the industry, means art-lovers will have plenty to choose from at the event.
A silent auction will be held at the Cooper Union's Houghton Gallery, with smaller works and prints available for immediate purchase.
The artist who Gossiaux was interning for when the accident occurred has already taken it upon himself to sell some of his own pieces to help raise money for the cause.
Cooper Union alum Daniel Arsham, 30, said he raised upwards of $20,000 by selling some of his drawings, and he intends to have Gossiaux back working in his Brooklyn studio as soon as she's ready.
"I sort of felt, as an artist in the community and somebody who knows her, to do what I can to support her," Arsham said, noting that Gossiaux was on her way to his studio when the accident occurred.
He believes her contributions as an artist will only be amplified because of the blindness, as Gossiaux will be forced to focus on aspects of her craft she might otherwise wouldn't have.
"It perhaps will increase her attention in other areas," Arsham said. "There are things that she will be able to do with her condition that we will not be able to do."
He added the labor-intensive task of working at his studio helped prepare Gossiaux for her physically demanding recovery.
"This was a day-to-day thing before the accident," Arsham said of the difficult process she's undergoing to get back into shape, "so for her it's normal."
Gossiaux's mother said Arsham's art sales and the auction would help contribute to the "maze" of medical costs associated with her daughter's surgeries, treatment and future medical expenses she expects to incur during the recovery.
"It's amazing to me that so many people reach out and care — whether it's through prayers, words of support, rooting her on," said Susan Gossiaux, 60, who is currently living with her daughter in Stuyvesant Town.
"It renews that belief that people have human kindness, and renews the fact that there is a very positive part to us."
Lundgard — who helped convince doctors that Gossiaux wasn't completely brain-dead following the accident by getting her to respond to him by tracing "I love you" on her hand with his finger — said she is now focused on improving her hearing, knowing that her eyesight is mostly gone.
"After the accident, she's really had to struggle to adapt to the visual deficit," he said. "She said, 'If I can't see, I at least want to be able to hear well.'"
The benefit is scheduled for Sat., April 23, from 2-6 p.m., at the Cooper Union's Houghton Gallery, 7 E. 7th St.
