Brendan Cormier's Medical Expenses

A few weeks ago, tragedy struck one of Westport’s best families. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire in May 2015, Brendan Cormier wanted to use his degree in Sustainability and Food Systems in the most interesting way possible. Later that year, in December, he found the opportunity to do so in the Dominican Republic as an intern on an aquaponics farm. He was tasked with developing new strategies to improve the efficiency of the operation, and before long, was making lasting contributions. He was absolutely thrilled with his new vocation and made plans to stay with the farm long-term. On May 2, however, this bright future suffered a setback. While climbing a tree, Brendan fell and sustained a fracture of his L1 vertebrae with a complete spinal cord injury at the T11 neurological level, while also fracturing and dislocating both wrists. He underwent emergency surgery at Central Medical Center in the DR, while his parents scrambled to find the earliest flight down there. Six days later, after a brief post-operative stay, he was medflighted to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he underwent further surgery on his wrists. He has since been transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. As anyone who knows Brendan would expect, he has been working extremely hard in rehab and maintaining a remarkably positive attitude, which together have resulted in improvements every day. Fortunately, he has received excellent medical care at each stage of his ordeal. However, many of the expenses are beyond the scope of his health insurance, and will therefore be incurred directly by the Cormier family. This account has been established to help offset some of those costs and alleviate the immense financial burdens associated with Brendan’s road to recovery. Whether you know Brendan through St. John’s Parish, Westport Youth Soccer, Bishop Stang, UNH, or his most recent endeavors in sustainable agriculture, please consider donating in whatever capacity you can and helping this stud walk again. Of course, your prayers and well wishes are appreciated as well.