A Helping Hand for the Piersons

Hey everyone-

For those of you who don't know, our besties Josh and Courtney Pierson moved up to Adamstown, Maryland in August to help watch over and take care of Josh Brettell's great uncle John Ditman. They have made the place immeasurably better for themselves and Uncle John, and we truly feel that everyone up there is living a better quality of life because of their being there. We are as well, knowing that we have people we'd trust with our lives watching over things.

Today Josh Pierson was working with two of the housemates splitting wood (the house is heated via wood stove) when there was an accident with the machine's throttle. The index and middle fingers on his right hand were caught in the machine and from the top knuckle up both were crushed and nearly amputated.

He was brought to the emergency room at Frederick (MD) Memorial Hospital, and after 8 hours, numerous x-rays, and other preliminary treatment it was determined he needed to be transported to MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore for specialized orthopedics care. He is en route via ambulance as I'm writing this, and we would expect him to go into surgery late tonight or early tomorrow morning to see what can be saved.

He is going to be OK, but since Courtney just started her new job earlier in the fall, it will still be two weeks before they're eligible for any health insurance through her employer, so obviously NONE of this will be covered by any insurance. He was also preparing to start a part time job this week, which clearly isn't going to happen for a while now.

They live on a property owned by Josh Brettell, so they will always have a place to live, but the medical bills are going to be staggering. Courtney is also going to have to take off an as-yet-undetermined time from work to help with the recovery. There is going to be hospitalization as well as weeks if not months of recovery therapy.

We are asking everyone to donate whatever they can, even if it's only the tiniest amount, to help out these dear friends who have always been there for us. ALL FUNDS will go to them directly, to cover medical bills, living expenses, whatever they need.  Let's show them how much they mean to us and give Pierson a "helping hand!"

We will update with Josh's progress as much as possible.