Brandon Lambright Family

On April 12, my husband Brandon Lambright suffered a fall at his place of work which cracked his skull from one side to the other. The ER doctor said had he hit any other spot he probably wouldn’t even be there, but unfortunately he fell and hit the thinnest spot. He had a small bleed and the doctors were confident he would be “walking out of here with a headache in a couple of days.” My children were in the ER with me as I had nobody to take them on short notice when I got that phone call.

We went home. As I gave my children their baths, the hospital called to inform me that a small bleed had become a large bleed, that unfortunately things had “taken a turn for the worse,” and that Brandon was being taken to surgery. I packed up the kids in their pajamas and met with family at the hospital until 1 am, for the duration of the surgery.

Since that night, Brandon has been hospitalized. He spent over two weeks in a coma, showing no sign of improvement until he opened his eyes. Still, the eyes stared blankly and I came to the decision with immediate family members to end medical care by the end of that third week, if he did not show further improvement.

On the day I had scheduled for the removal of care, the hospital called to inform me that Brandon was showing “small neurological improvements.” He was tracking movement with his eyes, blinking on command, blinking to communicate a yes response, wiggled a toe, and moved a crossed arm on command. He was no longer considered vegetative and seemed to be on the upward slope of this roller coaster we are riding.

Brandon has confirmed brain damage in at least four different areas. He is still missing the part of his skull that was removed for swelling with the surgery. The doctors have had concerns about brain stem damage as well but have not been able to confirm nor rule that out with medical imaging. He is also expected to have lost his peripheral vision due to the stroke he suffered with this injury. He has now been transferred to a long term care facility in Portage, IN, an hour and twenty minutes from our home in Niles, MI.

I am seeking funds for therapy and travel expenses. The amount I have set for our goal would give an estimated 200/wk for therapy expenses, and 50/wk to help with gas, for one year. I have been a stay at home parent to our two year old while Brandon was the sole breadwinner of our household. He had been at his new job for two months, so our family has not had insurance. While our basic finances are being covered with compensation from workman’s comp, I am seeking assistance with the new expenses of therapy and traveling expenses. I also drove a 99 Honda Accord that is in current need of repair. It would be wise for me to seek repairs on my backup vehicle as well, which is in need of more substantial repairs and not currently operable.