Ernie Brassard: If you've met him, you love him!

I just got word Wednesday morning (February 28, 2024) that my long-time friend Ernie Brassard is in the ICU at Renown Hospital in Reno.

Information is sketchy but here’s what I've been able to piece together so far...

Ernie lives in North Lake Tahoe with his wife Debbie and was apparently returning from work at Squaw Valley Monday afternoon (2/26/2024) to his home when he was driving alone in near blizzard conditions and had a car accident somewhere along highway 28.

When paramedics reached him at the scene he was severely injured and non-responsive. They decided to Life Flight him down the hill to Reno's Renown Regional Medical Center, as they were capable of providing the treatment Ernie needed.

I found out about Ernie on Wednesday morning (2/28/24) and called the hospital. The ICU nurse told me he's stable but on a ventilator (side effects from neck surgery) and sedated and will be for several more days. He's unable to talk because of the ventilator. He'll be there in the ICU for weeks and then transitioned to a rehabilitation facility.

Ernie is 77 years old, strong as an ox, and skis 100 days a year but that didn't protect him from this accident.

He is not out of the woods yet. There are many unknowns facing our friend. He is facing a long and expensive recovery period ahead of him. Now, because of the accident, he can no longer work.

Most of you know of Ernie's connection to "Ta-hoe NALU, the biggest stand-up-paddle board festival in the world."

He has an incredible personality and always has a smile and a positive comment for everyone he meets. He is incredibly well liked and has a million friends.

Will you help me help Ernie by offsetting the bleak future he's facing? Anything you can give will help.

(Please post the link to this, Ernie's GoFundMe page, in as many places as you can, including Facebook, Ta-hoe NALU, Twitter, etc. and other like platforms.)

Thank you,

Bruce

(I'll post edits and updates as information becomes available.)