My name is Miles Austin and I am the father of Jason Austin. 

Jason is 35 years old and is a gentle, caring soul who has lived independently in Nevada for over 10 years now. Back in 2001, at 19 years old and living at home, he suffered a massive head trauma while riding his little brothers bike without a helmet. He had a craniotomy at that time on the left side of his skull. After almost two years of recovery and therapy, Jason was able to function well on his own with only a few speech and analytic challenges. After this head trauma, he began having seizures, sometimes severe, that limited his ability to work. Even with these limitations, he is fiercely independent, and insisted on living on his own and making a life for himself. 

Fast forward to the early morning hours of July 11th. I received another call that every parent dreads. "Mr. Austin, your son has a massive head trauma and you need to get to Las Vegas as soon as possible". I grabbed a few clothes and rushed out the door to catch the first plane out from Seattle to Las Vegas. I have been in Las Vegas at University Medical Center ever since.

I hesitated to show this photo of Jason, but I think it is important to understand the severity of Jason's injuries

Jason in better days

What we learned was that Jason had experienced a massive seizure and had fallen in his apartment, fractured his skull on the left side, and experienced another mass trauma.  To compound the injury, he went undiscovered in his apartment for two days, and when he was discovered he had been laying in a pool of blood from his head and extremely dehydrated from the 100 degree plus temperatures.

Jason after his latest injury

After undergoing another craniotomy, this time to the right side, he was in the trauma center at UMC Las Vegas for the next 3 weeks. As a result of this injury, Jason has lost the use of his left side of his body. They believe he might have experienced a stroke as a result of his fall.  On top of this, while in the trauma unit, he became infected with the MRSA virus. 

Jason has now been transferred to a rehabilitation center outside of Las Vegas on July 28th and is beginning physical, occupational and speech therapy several hours each day. 

As you can imagine, the expenses for this medical care are expensive. Compounding the logistics and expense is that I live and work in Seattle. Jason's Mom would also love to be by Jason's side, but just underwent major back surgery, leaving her unable to walk or travel for 6 to 8 weeks. 

Jason is going to require significant long term care, possibly for the rest of his life. The money from this campaign will help provide necessary funds for the short term, and help to prepare for the long term care that he will require. Your donation will provide the ability to ensure that Jason's  short term medical expenses can be recovered to some extent as well as the costs to come. 

I have participated in campaigns like this over the last several years for others and always wondered what I would do if this ever happened to one of my family. This is that time.

Your support for Jason and I during this time will allow us to focus on next steps rather than dealing with the constant questions of how these expenses will be covered. 

This is not comfortable for me to ask but am at a point that I really need your help. My children are the most important thing in my life, and your support will never be forgotten. Many of you that have heard about this have been asking how you can help and frankly, I didn't have an answer other than prayer. Your prayers are important, and your donation will be a lasting reminder of the kindness of friends.  God bless you for your support in this challenging time.