Our hearts have been shattered by an unexpected tragedy that changed James and his family’s lives in an instant. James — a devoted partner, loving father, son, veteran and firefighter — was involved in a devastating accident that left him with a fractured spine and bleeding on the brain, requiring immediate emergency surgery.

For those who know James, they know he is the kind of person who shows up for others without hesitation. As a firefighter, he has dedicated his life to protecting and helping his community, he was also Firefighter of the year and is usually the one running to the rescue. Now, he and his family need that same support surrounding them as they face the difficult road ahead.

While James begins his recovery journey, his family is carrying the overwhelming weight of emotional stress, medical expenses, childcare, and everyday household needs. The uncertainty of what comes next has been incredibly difficult, but we are hoping to help lighten that burden in any way we can.

This fundraiser was created to help give James and his family the space to focus on healing, recovery, and being together during this unimaginable time. Every donation, no matter the amount, and every share of this fundraiser will make a meaningful difference for their family.

Thank you for surrounding James and his loved ones with compassion, strength, and support when they need it most.

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UPDATES:

May 13, 2026

This morning it was announced that James has a fractured skull, brain bleed, and several fractured vertebrae. They were able to remove a bunch of the bone fragments from his brain and put in a titanium plate. There was still lots of swelling. He was put into a coma until it stops swelling and bleeding. The vertebrae also need to be fixed, but don't know if they can yet. Due to some of the fractured vertebrae, it is likely he will have very reduced or zero mobility on his right side.

This afternoon there was an updated post stating that his CT scans came back stable. His brain pressure has gone from 29 this morning to 20. He is still in a coma and on life support machines, but the doctors confirmed that there is no other internal damage to organs, etc.

He is doing amazing for being 24 hours into treatment.

May 14, 2026

James is doing well. He had a bit of a rough night, but responded well to treatment. He is currently stable. They will be discussing the next steps going forward, today. The prognosis currently is that he will have some neurological damage. It is uncertain if it will be numbness, or full paralysis at this time.

They attempted to lower his sedation temporarily, and his heart did not respond well. This is very normal for where he is currently. He is not responsive during this time. However, he did move his left arm and leg.

The doctors are talking about surgery on his t-spine, which is the culprit of his right-side neuro complications. The surgery will not take place today, but hopefully soon.

May 15, 2026

James had a really good night. He is off one of the sedatives, and has been pretty responsive, opening his eyes and moving his left limbs. The doctors tested this morning by taking him off his second sedative to do an exam. He was opening his eyes on command, but not able to make other movements on command. The neuro surgeon says this is very normal and still in great ranges of recovery.

They are still worried about his brain pressure because it is still a lot higher than imaging would suggest, but they are thinking it will sort itself out. They have determined that his right side complications are being caused by the brain, not his spine damage, but there is no plan for trying to fix that yet.

They do have plans to try and get a spinal surgery done in the next week, hopefully. That plan may also eventually include another brain surgery, but they are uncertain at this time.

Since he was looking around and turning his head when sedation was reduced, he ended up vomiting. It was handled very swiftly and well. Due to the risks of aspiration and pneumonia, he has been sedated again for the time being, with the plan to slowly reduce it as he can handle it.

May 17, 2026

James has remained stable all weekend. As soon as an OR becomes available, he will be in for his T-spine surgery. They will be exploring to see if they can make sense of what is broken, how bad it is, and if they can fix it. Then they will be doing a stabilization surgery of his T4 (rods and screws). This is estimated to take 6 to 12 hours and they need two teams to make it happen, it is a bit of a waiting game. In the meantime, they have been limiting stimulation; no talking to him or touching him. He is sedated and still on life support to keep him calm.

It is likely that James and his family will be frequenting / "living" at the hospital for the next few months (or longer) at this time.

As recovery will be a very long and strenuous journey.

May 20, 2026

Todays update isn't ideal. They are struggling to keep James stable and at this time, he is considered critical. They are discussing the options available at this time and what future treatment and life may look like. The doctors stressed that this does NOT mean that there is no hope, but they consider it "serious" at this time.

When he was checked on this evening, he was more stable than he had been in the last 24 hours. He is currently medicated and sedated to the maximum.

May 21, 2026

Updates may be posted less often due to James's frequently changing condition. This journey is going to be a rollercoaster for all involved.

Today James made a bit of progress. He was allowed to be spoken to and interacted with. The goal is for stabilization and surgery this upcoming week.

May 25, 2026

James had x-rays done, which showed some spots on his lungs. They have confirmed through tests and cultures (and days of waiting) that it is NOT pneumonia, but just some build up of tissues that are "deteriorating" due to being on the ventilator. This is a small amount of reduced lung capacity, but not permanent or dangerous.

They have taken out his vent, suctioned his lungs, and replaced the vent. All appears well with that.

His brain pressure has remained stable.

Ideally, his intercranial pressure should be under 20 (30 is fine, 40 is concerning, 50 is dangerous, and above is brain damaging. Prolonged pressure above 35 is also brain damaging).

James has remained between 18 and 28 for the most part, with a few jumps into the 40s when they do any procedures, and one jump into the 70s when they did his neck procedure (taking off his collar to replace breathing tubing).

All of these jumps have been managed on his own, or with medication.

In order to reduce his brain pressure, they need to sit him up. However, that is not possible at this time due to his spinal injuries. They need to do a spinal surgery first, and his brain needs to be stable in order for that surgery to happen.

James is currently considered stable enough for surgery.

They predict that he could go into surgery at any point between now and Thursday.

Their plan is to stabilize his spine, then spend a few days healing on his stomach. He will then be sat up to reduce his brain pressure. Once that is stable, they will start to reduce his coma medications and go from there.

Although this is very hopeful and positive news, this does not clarify anything about the future at the moment.

James is currently on several powerful amnesiacs (memory loss inducing medications), so it is very likely that he will be confused, scared, stressed, and not recognize anyone around him for several days or weeks if he wakes up after reducing his coma medications.

The team is hopeful for his recovery, but the extent of his physical and mental damage is still unknown, until things progress further.

May 28, 2026

James surgery has been cancelled due to the build up in his lungs, he is not considered stable enough for the surgery at this time. All of his scans and tests are coming back as no change (which is good). He isn't deteriorating. The last 24 hours he has been great, with the lowest ICP yet at 13.

Waiting for him to meet the hospitals criteria for surgery before progressing.

May 30, 2026

Overall, James ICP numbers are trending downwards. The main issues at the moment are ICU and life support related: fluid buildup, organ stress, anemia, and pneumonia. None of these are concerning yet, but they do complicate his recovery a little bit.

The team is amazing and he is being proactively treated for issues before they arise. His average ICP is now under 20, with last night showing his first single digit reading!

He's having his lungs suctioned regularly to keep them clear. He also had a few stitches removed last night.

The doctor has him on the cancelation list for surgery this weekend, otherwise they are hoping to get him in next week.

Today is day 19 of being in the hospital.

May 31, 2026

James's new doctor has changed up his plan, and is taking a more aggressive approach. Within hours of introducing a few new medications, his ICP dropped into the single digits!

The doctor personally got the spine surgeon and collectively they decided to sit James up a little bit, it was immediately successful.

James is managing his ICP on his own, no real spikes that don't come down within minutes, and his lungs are working better on their own with the help of gravity.

June 2, 2026

James was taken in for surgery early afternoon and the procedure was completed by early evening!

No other updates at this time, other than he made it out of surgery safely.

June 3, 2026

James is currently only on about 1/4 of his sedation, managing all of his pressures and spikes on his own without assistance.

For the first time, he was sitting upright. He even managed to open his eyes for a few short moments.

He will need lots of rest in the upcoming days with a long journey ahead, but he is progressing well!

June 9, 2026

This past weekend, James has made a lot of progress!

He is now communicating "yes" and "no" with his eyes, making facial expressions, and clearly showing emotions throughout the day.

There is still quite a bit of confusion, as was expected.

Physically, he's been moving his left side well. He's lifting his leg, lifting his shoulder, squeezing hands, and trying very hard to sit up.

He is able to communicate when he is in pain, which has helped with pain control and better monitoring his current state.

The biggest news is that his brain pressure monitor (ICP monitor) is coming out today because he no longer needs it.

The neurosurgery team has also approved removal of his trach, and this mornings respiratory therapy tested him on minimal pressure support. He did all of the breathing himself. He has a few more assessments left to complete.

If all goes well, it is expected that he may be able to verbally speak again in the next week or two.

There is still no prognosis.

They don't know how much the brain injury will affect his memory, speech, personality, or physical abilities at this time.

They are unsure how much of the right-sided weakness will recover, and are unsure of what long-term limitations the spinal injury may cause.

There is still a very long road ahead.

June 10, 2026

Today is day 30, and James has been transferred out of ICU and is now in High Intensity Observation (his trach was removed yesterday).

He will remain there until his lungs are confirmed to be doing well, and until he has made it through his medication withdrawls. Then he will be transferred again.

June 11, 2026

James was able to eat some soup and apple sauce yesterday!

Today he spoke his first words since the accident.