Shine Bright For Diamond July 25, 2024

The Salon Professional Academy in Fargo is raising funds to help Diamond Williams with medical expenses. Join us for a Bake Sale & Garage Sale August 15th at 4377 15th Avenue south in Fargo.

Donations can also be made to Diamond’s medical fund at Lend A Hand Up by clicking here. 

Diamond Williams came to the US when she was 8 with her dad, leaving her mom and couple other siblings in Africa. She has been through a lot as a child and teen, not having much family support. She has worked to pay her own bills since just a teen. She enrolled in massage school at The Salon Professional Academy in Fargo and was trying to keep up, but family emergencies were on her mind. She took a leave of absence to be with her family while they were going through medical issues. While she was on her LOA, she would still do massage classwork and wanted to keep everything fresh in her mind. Just before she was due back to school, she was in a tragic accident, where she was run over 3 times by a car. She was not the only one hit that night, there were actually 3 victims. One of the victims took a hard hit that probably saved Diamond’s life, sadly he was critically injured as well. He has not fully regained his vision after the impact made his eye pop out, as well as other injuries. Police say Diamond was lucky to be alive after watching the video footage of what happened. She was sent to the hospital where she had marks up her body from toe to head. She had a broken pelvis, which required pins in her legs and was not able to walk. She had to have medications to stop blood clots and for the pain she was in. She was in the hospital for weeks before she was able to even go home. While at home, she was wheelchair bound for quite some time with only being able to bare weight to move from chair to bathroom, chair, or bed. She was able to slowly walk again and got the clear to come back to school with limitations. Diamond’s determination and perseverance kept her going, though she was in pain she still came to school. As weeks went on, Diamond was able to do more and more and walk with only a slight limp. She wanted to be able to help people, so she started out slow with shorter appointments with longer breaks between. She worked hard to build her strength and endurance and was doing longer massages with less of a break WAY before we had anticipated. Now, she is the best performer in the class for this month and just wants to keep pushing for her goals. She still has PT and court appointments. She still has trouble with the trauma that happened the night of her accident mentally, emotionally, and physically. She had set up a GoFund Me page to help with medical bills and daily living expenses, but she received none of it because someone shut down her page. Diamond goes to school full time and works when she can to pay her bills and even send money to her mother in Africa. It has been amazing to see how Diamond has taken an awful experience and pushed through to find the positive and still have the will to complete massage school.

Diamond wrote this for her graduation ceremony:

I chose to be a massage therapist because I wanted to help others find relief from pain and stress, driven by a deep passion for promoting physical and mental well-being. Witnessing the transformative power of touch therapy inspired me to pursue this fulfilling career. Every day, I am rewarded by the positive impact I have on my clients’ lives, enhancing their quality of life and fostering a sense of balance. This career choice has not only allowed me to grow professionally but also to connect deeply with others, making it profoundly rewarding. My plans after graduation are to move out of Fargo and have my own spa in a year or two. I just want to keep being able to help others find relief from pain and stress. I would like to say thank you to my cousin, Darline Suah, for supporting me every step of the way. Thank you for never giving up on me, always having my back, and motivating me to go back to school. I am grateful to have you in my life. I would also like to thank my teachers, Angela and Kaitlyn, for never giving up on me, guiding and supporting me, telling me how amazing I am, and just always being there. Thank you for being amazing teachers to us. We love y’all!! Thank you to my classmates for just being there on the days I am down and just cheering me up. Thank you for making me feel welcome and wanted. Thank you for everything. I wish y’all the best and my god continue blessing y’all. WE DID IT!!!