DeltaWing engineer hospitalized (Update)
The DeltaWing race engineer, who was on vacation in Italy with her husband, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent an operation late last month.
According to a statement from her family, Crawford was released from Umberto Hospital on Wednesday and has been in her family’s care since.
"We can’t thank enough the exceptional surgeon, Dr. Biagia La Pira, and all the folks at Umberto Hospital in Rome for all they’ve done for Kate and our family," the statement read.
"Catherine is recovering at a speed that’s very encouraging and will fly with husband Russ and the Crawford family home to the U.S. on Saturday. She has said to us to thank everyone who has reached out to express their love and support."
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| Catherine Crawford |
03/31/16
Braselton, Ga. Mar. 31, 2016 – Panoz DeltaWing Racing’s thoughts and prayers are with the Crawford family at this very difficult time and would like to share the following statement from the family:
On Tuesday, March 29, 2016, our daughter Catherine, Engineering Manager at Crawford Composites and Lead Engineer at DeltaWing Racing, underwent emergency surgery in Rome, Italy for a brain tumor.
Catherine and her husband Russ were on a business-pleasure trip to Italy when she suffered a severe headache and more serious symptoms were immediately evident. The surgeons have praised Russ for his swift action in getting Catherine to hospital – something that positively affected the outcome.
Our family is here in Rome at present supporting Russ and Catherine. We acknowledge that the road to recovery will be a long one but the surgeons are encouraged by the progress Catherine has displayed already.
We want to thank all who have expressed their support and love and at this time we respectfully request privacy.
Sincerely,
Max and Jan Crawford
Crawford Composites
Catherine Crawford is an irreplaceable member of the Panoz DeltaWing Racing team and has been instrumental in the success the team has enjoyed recently. The team will return to Long Beach with the current team as it is and remain positive and hopeful that Catherine will make a full recovery.
Tim Keene
“It goes without saying that we were all devastated by the news, as we are a very tight knit family, just as everyone is in the entire racing community. Catherine is such a strong and feisty woman, and I have all the confidence in the world that she’ll overcome this and come back to us all stronger than ever. We will continue on in the upcoming races, but her presence will always be with us as she makes her recovery."