Husband says woman struck by falling tree in San Francisco won't walk again

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The husband of a woman struck by a falling tree limb says his wife won't be able to walk again.

Arborists have been checking trees in this and other parks. The results are not in, but Cui Ying Zhou's husband says she is expected to leave the intensive care unit.

RELATED: San Francisco woman remains in critical after tree branch falls on her

Just a week ago Friday, she was at Washington Square Park in San Francisco's North Beach, watching her daughters play.

"Everything stopped in that moment. I was so worried," husband Jian Cong Tan said.

Tan is still processing everything his wife is going through. He received the terrible, shocking call a week ago.

"The police told me that my wife got hit by a big branch," he said.

Thirty-six-year-old Zhou was in the park watching her daughters play when a large, 100-pound tree branch fell and landed on her head. She was rushed to the hospital, where she's undergone multiple surgeries.

WATCH VIDEO: Tree branch falls on woman in SF park causing severe injuries

"They showed me the picture of the backbone. It was split in half and I was so scared," Tan said.

He says his wife is in a lot of pain right now. All he can do is take care of their girls and comfort her with words.

"I told her not to worry and just don't think about anything else. Just relax and sleep," Tan said.

Recovery is going to be long and difficult. Doctors say Zhou is paralyzed. The branch broke her lower spine.

"She's not gonna walk, and probably have to go to rehab for a long, long time," Tan said.

Medical bills are mounting. Tan says his wife took care of everything at home while he worked.

Several nonprofits are offering the family help. Lawlong Long of Faces SF is one of them. "Accidents happen every day and we serve 600 families every day. And we hear different stories every day," he said.

"I'm pretty much afraid to bring them to the same place again," Tan said.

The memory is now too painful to return to a park they once enjoyed.

Click here if you would like to help with a GoFundMe account for the family.