Reiners for Rick Brown - Medical Costs

On May 13, 2014 Rick Brown was in a horse training accident at his farm in Union City, Pennsylvania. While riding, Rick's horse was giving him difficulty, reared up, lost it's balance and fell on top of him, crushing him. He called his daughter, Shauna, who was 15 miles from home. The only words she heard were "call 911" and he hung up. She found him laying in the field, a very small man in a bed of tall grass, with his horse leaning over him, waiting for him to get back on and continue the lesson. Her first thought was that he was dead. She said "the most relieved I have ever felt is when he spoke to me." Rick said "hold my head up, I can't hold my head up." Then eventually, "Shauna, I can't feel my legs." Shauna waited there with her dad for a very long time for the first response team. When they arrived, things happened fast and the EMTs took very good care of him. Rick broke his back at the L2 vertebrae, several ribs and punctured a lung. He was life flighted to St. Elizabeths Trauma Center in Youngstown, Ohio, 2 hours from his home, because a lightning storm over Lake Erie made it impossible to fly him to Hamot in Erie. He remained conscious through the entire ordeal and when he arrived at the hospital he had very slight "tingling" in his feet but was not able to move them. The next day they did surgery and put a steel rod in his back to stabilize him. The doctors still did not know at that point if he would walk again. The doctor was very forthright in saying "he may or he may not". A few days later, he regained movement! On May 23rd they moved Rick to LECOM Rehab Center in Erie, PA where he will be for a very long time. Which is just another cost that his insurance isn't covering.  The doctors are telling him that he will walk again, but only if he works hard.  Shauna said she doesn't know anyone who works harder.

Rick has been showing and training reining horses for over 30 years. He has over $70,000 in NRHA earnings as a self-taught non-professional and has never shown a horse he didn't raise and train on his own. The Browns have 300 acre farm with a herd of over 20 very well bred reining prospects and young stock. These are horses Rick has spent his life waiting for and now we will have to sell most of them. He is also a self employed contractor running Brown construction since 1991. Since the accident he has been forced to let his crew go. There is no Brown Construction until Rick Brown is able to work again. All his income has stopped.

Rick Brown & his daughter Shauna have been supporters of Western Pennsylvania Reining Horse Association for years and are supporters of the sport of reining in general.  As a club we would like to set up this GoFundMe account to benefit Rick & his family in this time of need.  Donated money will go directly to Rick to help cover medical bills not being covered by his insurance & for general living expenses while he is unable to work.  WPRHA is a local non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the reining horse.  Our Tax Exempt ID Number is 25-1782633, our website is www.WPRHA.com, & our Facebook page is www.Facebook.com/WPRHA.  Please like our Facebook page to keep up with updates about Rick & WPRHA!  Thank you in advance for your love and support to Rick Brown and his family!