On Friday, April 16th around midnight my brother Michael’s life changed forever. While driving home from a friends, he missed a turn in the road— a split second was all it took. 

In this moment, he was off the road, ploughing through deep shrubs where he crashed and was then ejected from the vehicle, suffering devastating injuries and leaving no trace of his whereabouts from the roadway. 

He was not discovered for 16 hours.

When we learned of his crash it was the most helpless feeling. We were not able to go to him due to Covid restrictions and we were told very little of his condition that evening. That helplessness, albeit very real, quickly seemed trivial as I was finally able to see and then speak to my brother at 8 am the following morning. Holding and squeezing his hand was the best feeling...He was ALIVE! Then the wall of reality hit when we not only learned of the heartbreaking condition this accident left him with but of the added trauma of his 16 hours all alone, broken and just praying to be found and saved. 

Michael has been brief and has offered limited descriptions of his time at the crash site but has given me permission to share it with you. I assume his quietness is due to the severe emotional pain of it all. The thoughts, the fear, the panic that went on for hours...it’s comparable to one of our worst nightmares. Regardless, he didn’t have to share anything at all so I am really proud of him for being vulnerable to move forward in the mental aspect of healing. I also believe it’s important in this situation for you to have the chance to learn Michael’s story, his medical needs and hurdles ahead to understand just how dire his situation is and how much we need your help.

The Accident:
Michael shared that he remembers the whole crash. He had been hanging with friends and called his girlfriend Deaven sometime between 11 and midnight to let her know he was heading home. Deaven, who worked late that evening, told him she would make him some food and was heading off to bed, never imagining how suddenly life was going to change as she closed her eyes and fell asleep. After waking up and realizing something was really wrong, Deaven phoned some friends of Michael’s to go search for a crash site. They meticulously searched the roadway he traveled. He was so hidden that she herself drove by the crash site 2 times just looking for him.
Michael had driven this road numerous times. He knew it well but while driving he quickly glanced down at his phone and fate was sealed. Careening off the road, he crashed and was ejected. Shock began instantly as he began to assess himself. He stated that at first his adrenaline was pumping as he tried to get up and felt little pain. However he very quickly realized the extent of his devastating injuries when he couldn’t move his legs or feel his feet to get up. I can not imagine this moment for him and it tortures us when we try to grasp it, let alone survive it.  He shared that it took him hours to drag himself just 4 feet towards his car desperately wanting to find his phone to save himself and how he repeatedly screamed for help with every car that passed. As he was alone in the cold and darkness of the night and then into the light of day for hours and hours with no sign of help arriving, Michael said he fell in and out of sleep not knowing if it was from pure exhaustion, shock, blood loss or all of the above. He wondered if he would ever be found...when finally, he heard his friends voices and painfully screamed one last time to be discovered. Michael was transferred by life flight to Enloe Medical Center in Chico, CA where he remains in the Neuro ICU. 

The Injuries: 
Michael suffered a shattered back clinically called an L1 Chance Fracture as well as a probable Conus Medullaris SCI which means he has damaged the very bottom of his spinal cord. He suffered 5 broken ribs on his left side, a broken vertebrae in his neck (C7), as well as several cuts, scrapes and lacerations requiring sutures. 

Michael currently is not able to move below the waist but like his favorite vehicle, he is “Built Ford Tough”. He endured a 5+ hr surgery to repair and fuse his shattered back and although his surgery was a success, he has not been promised to walk again. Only time, determination, and God’s Grace will provide that outcome but we are hopeful and encouraged! 

The Recovery:
Michael’s road to recovery will most assuredly be a marathon and not a sprint. Our biggest concern today is honestly, his mental health.  An injury of this magnitude is devastating to this type of man. He’s extremely and fiercely independent having been thrown into an adult world abruptly at age 8 after being removed from his surrogate family, our family without warning.My Mom, my Dad, my brother Bryce... just slightly older. They were best friends and inseparable. I was still a baby at 1 1/2 yrs of age but I grew up knowing Michael through memories and photos and lots of loving conversations of him. Michael didn’t have this blessing of a family to talk to about this separation or anyone to support him through this time. Even though he reconnected with us in his adult season of life, we have not had enough time to heal those wounds of the mind. We are so afraid that this injury will hurdle him backwards and he will start to decline just as he did as a child of age 8. He has made many poor choices on the way to adulthood but he always strives to escape his past and do better. And Michael was doing just that! He has a beautiful girlfriend and home life. He was making sound choices, paying bills and being responsible to his children and people were taking notice of his changes! It was inspiring. This recovery is so necessary for him. He is a mechanic. He works with his body and thrives on being strong and able. He loves riding his motorcycle, pushing his daughter on the swing and making dirt bike jumps for his girlfriend’s son and so so much more! Michael has faced hardships in his life but he is so deserving of our support during this process.

He is finishing up in the Neuro ICU tomorrow we are told, as his body is young and healing quickly from life threatening injuries to stable injuries. My Mom and Deaven have been with Michael every single day, traveling to and from home daily and working tirelessly along side the staff to ensure the very best recovery for him.  My Mom contacted Santa Clara Valley Rehabilitation Center right away as she was told this was the best facility in the state and if you know our Mom, she is relentless on getting us the best life has to offer. Deaven and her met yesterday with a liaison from the facility and feel very confident and optimistic Michael will be transferred soon as he was accepted into the program! We are elated! They are eager to begin his recovery process with him but we must await the last hurdle of authorization from his insurance. Michael will endure a rigorous 3-4 week rehabilitation of PT, OT and Social Therapy for 5-7 hrs daily to regain his independence to be able to transition home. My Mom has begun research for subsequent and continued rehabilitation when this first chapter is finished but regardless Michael has a lifelong recovery process ahead. Please pray for his insurance authorization to Santa Clara! 

How You Can Help:
First and foremost, we trust in God. We know He will provide for Michael and will never abandon him so our wish is for each and every person who reads this to pray for Michael. The power of prayer is OVERWHELMING! We hope you will share his story and follow his recovery as he is feeling ALL of your love and support and it helps his spirits so much! If you’re able, we are hoping you will help monetarily. This journey has only begun and we are quickly learning how costly and taxing the process is. He has insurance, TTL and his major medical bills thus far and his inpatient rehabilitation will be covered however there are very real costs that are left unaccounted for like travel expenses to and from Santa Clara and the hotel stays for the required at home training care for Michael that his girlfriend Deaven must take. Deaven has already lost income due to not being able to work to be by Michael’s side. There will be medical equipment costs ahead that insurance won’t cover, medication copays, home renovations and adaptions for access and independence and general home expenses as well as they wait for his disability and care giving funds to be approved. All their up monetary needs that allow them to even keep a roof over their heads and a home to rehabilitate in are in jeopardy right now. These costs are overwhelming and terrifying in an already overwhelming and terrifying time and I’m positive there will be more to come. So please give what you can. We will be forever grateful to you.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for your continued love and support. 
I hope to update often. Photos will be limited due the Covid restrictions in Santa Clara and the very limited access to visitors now but I will update on his progress here and on social media through Deaven and our Mom. We so appreciate your messages in the meantime and also appreciate your understanding if we aren’t able to respond to each individual message as we normally would. 

God Bless!