Help Bernie Reim Recover from His Car Accident

My name is Keith Launchbury, and I am raising funds for my friend Bernie Reim, the popular co-host of the radio show Scientifically Speaking, and Professor of Astronomy at the University of Southern Maine.

On Monday, July 27, Bernie was involved in a terrible car accident. His car was hit at considerable speed by another vehicle, directly hitting the driver’s side of Bernie's car at a traffic intersection in Sanford, Maine. Bernie suffered major life-threatening injuries from this collision, and if it wasn’t for the prompt reaction of the first responders, he would probably have lost his life, as he had massive bone fractures, and his femoral artery was severed. The first responders applied a tourniquet and cut him from the wrecked car. A Lifeflight of Maine helicopter was quickly dispatched from the base in Sanford. He was emergency airlifted to the trauma center at Maine Medical in Portland. On the flight, he was given an emergency blood transfusion. Upon arrival, he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, where they repaired his severed artery and administered drugs along with additional blood transfusions to replace the blood he had lost from the accident.

The medical team assessed his condition and decided to perform surgery to insert a steel rod in his broken femur. Once this was done, they released him into a regular ward, where he was stabilized enough that they could perform additional surgery to repair and reset the bones in his pelvis. Additional scans showed that he had a lacerated spleen and was bleeding internally.

Bernie was transferred to the New England Rehabilitation Hospital on Tuesday, August 5, and is starting on his long road to recovery. His doctors have advised him that he will be unable to walk or put any weight on his broken hips and femur until they have healed, and this process could take several months. In the meantime, Bernie is unable to live independently, and he was transferred to an assisted living facility on August 21.

Bernie has had to give up the things he loves: his teaching, his real estate business, his radio show, his participation in the local astronomy club, his participation at church, his table tennis games, and his music lessons. He is alert and undergoing extensive physical and occupational therapy, but he is worried about his money running out. He is facing huge bills from the hospitals, the doctors, the helicopter, and the residential facilities where he will be living until his bones are completely healed.

He does have Medicare coverage, but he has been advised that Medicare will not cover his accommodation while his bones heal. He does have some money in savings, but this will be exhausted very quickly during the process.

So, we, his friends, have decided to set up this GoFundMe site to raise funds to cover his out-of-pocket expenses during this time. Please consider donating whatever you can to help him during this difficult time in his life. Bernie hates asking for help; his nature is to be a caregiver, and he has never been in the hospital before, so this is a brand new experience for him. He prides himself on giving to others, and now it's time for others to give back. Will you help us get Bernie back on his feet again? Any contribution, no matter how small, will help Bernie and be most appreciated.