Travis' Medical Fund
Donation protected
On Dec. 14, 2014, Travis was involved in a terrible car accident. He flipped a full size GMC Sierra down a 60 ft ravine, only stopping when the truck slammed into a pine tree. His left arm was hanging out the window when this occurred. When the truck finally came to a stop, Travis noticed how injured his arm was, and crawled out of the truck with only the use of his right arm. Luckily there were two vehicles behind him who saw the accident happen- an EMT from Rockhill, and the head ICU nurse who works at Richland. They rushed to Travis' and saved his life by putting two tourniquets on his arm. They said if they wouldn't have been there, he would have bled out in less than 5 minutes because his brachial artery had been severed. He was then rushed to Palmetto Health Richland.
He has undergone five surgeries since. The first surgery was on the day the accident occurred. All three bones in his left arm had compound fractures. So in order to fix them, he had plates and screws put in. Two days after the first surgery, Travis had an MRI done. This is when the severity of the injury was truly discovered. We already knew his radial nerve in his arm was completely severed in the accident. But then they told us he had suffered from a brachial plexus injury. His C5-C8 and T1 nerves were completely pulled out of the spinal chord. We were basically told Travis would never have any feeling or function to his left arm. We knew there were experimental surgeries for injuries like that though, so we stayed hopeful. The second surgery occurred only four days later. Travis developed compartment syndrome in his lower arm. They had to remove two large pieces of skin so that the muscles in his arm had room to swell. At that time, he had two wound V.A.C.s (Vacuum-assisted closure) put in those open wounds. A V.A.C. works by applying localized negative pressure which draws the edges of the wound to the center of the site to close it. By applying pressure directly to the wound, they are able to remove the fluids that cause swelling. The V.A.C. Also stimulates cellular growth, increase blood flow, and promote an increased healing response. (It's actually really awesome to see!) Then a few days later Travis had his third surgery. During this surgery the surgeons were able to close the smaller of the two wounds that were created due to the compartment syndrome. The only negative part of that surgery was that when they closed the wound on one side of his arm, it pulled the skin making the second wound much larger. If you have seen Travis in person, you know how large his arms are. The second wound went from the ditch of his elbow all the way to his hand, and it was as wide as his arm. This caused the fourth surgery where they changed the V.A.C. The wound V.A.C. was not able to keep up with the size of the wound, so there were fluids building up. A few more days went by and we finally were able to meet with the plastic surgeon. He decided a skin graph was the best possible way to close the wound. So the date was set for the surgery, and we were all so excited because he was also given a date for discharge. But the wound closer surgery did not go as planned. Once the surgeon removed the wound V.A.C, he saw that myopathy had occurred which is the necrosis of muscle. He had to remove all the muscle in Travis' lower arm, leaving only bones and tendons. That brings us to the sixth and hopefully final surgery.
Travis has decided amputating his left arm, directly above the elbow, is the right choice for him. Of course the doctors, his family, his club, and his friends all support him in this decision. The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday January 6th.
Travis has been nothing but positive since the accident occurred. I am so incredibly proud of him. I have never been more proud to call someone my boyfriend. He is so motivated! Plans have already been made to modify his motorcycle so he can ride with one arm, and he has already mastered so many skills using only his right arm. (I cried the first time I saw him put on his socks!)
There's a reason Travis wasn't taken from us that Sunday morning, and I am so excited to see what his future holds for him.
-Kaitlyn Faye, girlfriend
Growing up around Travis there was never a dull moment. He's always had a personality that you couldn't be laughing or joking around with him. But he's always been there to help if only for a laugh or encouraging word or advice. He's always willing to lend a helping hand or whatever you needed. If you know him, or even just met him briefly, you know what I'm talking about. You also would know how proud and unwilling to ask for anything in return he can be. So with this, I ask (because I know he won't) to help him anyway you can because I know he would do the same for you.
-Trey Copeland, older brother
We created this GoFundMe account to help with Travis' extensive medical expenses. Unfortunately Travis does not have health insurance, so donations of any size will be greatly appreciated.
He has undergone five surgeries since. The first surgery was on the day the accident occurred. All three bones in his left arm had compound fractures. So in order to fix them, he had plates and screws put in. Two days after the first surgery, Travis had an MRI done. This is when the severity of the injury was truly discovered. We already knew his radial nerve in his arm was completely severed in the accident. But then they told us he had suffered from a brachial plexus injury. His C5-C8 and T1 nerves were completely pulled out of the spinal chord. We were basically told Travis would never have any feeling or function to his left arm. We knew there were experimental surgeries for injuries like that though, so we stayed hopeful. The second surgery occurred only four days later. Travis developed compartment syndrome in his lower arm. They had to remove two large pieces of skin so that the muscles in his arm had room to swell. At that time, he had two wound V.A.C.s (Vacuum-assisted closure) put in those open wounds. A V.A.C. works by applying localized negative pressure which draws the edges of the wound to the center of the site to close it. By applying pressure directly to the wound, they are able to remove the fluids that cause swelling. The V.A.C. Also stimulates cellular growth, increase blood flow, and promote an increased healing response. (It's actually really awesome to see!) Then a few days later Travis had his third surgery. During this surgery the surgeons were able to close the smaller of the two wounds that were created due to the compartment syndrome. The only negative part of that surgery was that when they closed the wound on one side of his arm, it pulled the skin making the second wound much larger. If you have seen Travis in person, you know how large his arms are. The second wound went from the ditch of his elbow all the way to his hand, and it was as wide as his arm. This caused the fourth surgery where they changed the V.A.C. The wound V.A.C. was not able to keep up with the size of the wound, so there were fluids building up. A few more days went by and we finally were able to meet with the plastic surgeon. He decided a skin graph was the best possible way to close the wound. So the date was set for the surgery, and we were all so excited because he was also given a date for discharge. But the wound closer surgery did not go as planned. Once the surgeon removed the wound V.A.C, he saw that myopathy had occurred which is the necrosis of muscle. He had to remove all the muscle in Travis' lower arm, leaving only bones and tendons. That brings us to the sixth and hopefully final surgery.
Travis has decided amputating his left arm, directly above the elbow, is the right choice for him. Of course the doctors, his family, his club, and his friends all support him in this decision. The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday January 6th.
Travis has been nothing but positive since the accident occurred. I am so incredibly proud of him. I have never been more proud to call someone my boyfriend. He is so motivated! Plans have already been made to modify his motorcycle so he can ride with one arm, and he has already mastered so many skills using only his right arm. (I cried the first time I saw him put on his socks!)
There's a reason Travis wasn't taken from us that Sunday morning, and I am so excited to see what his future holds for him.
-Kaitlyn Faye, girlfriend
Growing up around Travis there was never a dull moment. He's always had a personality that you couldn't be laughing or joking around with him. But he's always been there to help if only for a laugh or encouraging word or advice. He's always willing to lend a helping hand or whatever you needed. If you know him, or even just met him briefly, you know what I'm talking about. You also would know how proud and unwilling to ask for anything in return he can be. So with this, I ask (because I know he won't) to help him anyway you can because I know he would do the same for you.
-Trey Copeland, older brother
We created this GoFundMe account to help with Travis' extensive medical expenses. Unfortunately Travis does not have health insurance, so donations of any size will be greatly appreciated.
Organizer
Kaiti Faye
Organizer
West Columbia, SC
