The Triangle’s gaming community is reaching out to help one of its own.

Ana Kessel, an intern at Insomniac Games, is recovering from injuries that left her an amputee. An online fundraiser has already produced pledges of more than $44,000. And Epic Games donated some “Gears of War” memrobilia to help raise money in an auction at eBay.

The accident left Kessel hospitalized a week ago. As of today, the online auction set up to help raise funds for her recovery reached $44,306 out of a $150,000 goal. (Here’s the site if you wish to donate.)

“It’s really heart-warming, and I’m really grateful for it,” Kessel told WRAL TV in an interview from her hospital bed. As for the future, she is determined to recover.  “Life is definitely going to be different, but I don’t’ think there will be anything that I won’t be able to do that I’m not already doing.”

Epic is offering three replicas of the “Lancer” weapons that were designed for use in its multi-million copy selling Gears series.

As of Monday, each had drawn bids of more than $400.

The Triangle Insomniac studio is focused on development of the next game in the popular “Ratchet & Clank” series.

In an interview with WRAL TV’s Leyla Santiago that aired on Thursday, Kessel talked about the accident. Kessel, 20, moved to Raleigh from Miami. 

“I don’t remember anything about being hit,” she said. “I just remember being half awake and the nurse telling me I lost my leg.”

The rest of the WRAL account follows:

Kessel had just left her boyfriend’s house and was running errands when she tried to turn left from Rocky Quarry Road onto Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 2:45 p.m., WRAL reported/

That’s when, Raleigh police say, a sedan driven by Michael Deontea Jones, 23, collided with her moped in the intersection. Police said Jones took off and was later arrested and charged with felony hit-and-run and driving without a valid license.

The wreck has left Kessel in disbelief.

“I still have what they have called phantom limbs,” she said. “I still look down and think I’m going to see my legs. I feel like I can move my toes, but they’re not there.”

Kessel, who doesn’t have health insurance, says she’s now in need of a prosthetic leg – something that she expects will cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000.

The community is already rallying around her, raising money online. By Thursday evening, people had donated more than $30,000 to help her cover her medical bills and expenses.

“It’s really heart-warming, and I’m really grateful for it,” Kessel said.

She sees the wreck not as a hindrance to her future, but an obstacle she’ll get through.

“I’m not too afraid of the future,” she said. “Life is definitely going to be different, but I don’t’ think there will be anything that I won’t be able to do that I’m not already doing.”

Best wishes, Ana.