Help Chuck Recover from His Motorcycle Accident

Chuck and Brenda Mailander have really been through the ringer in the last 2 years. They are in the middle of a crisis after Chuck was in a motorcycle accident on Sunday night.

If you know Chuck and Brenda, they are very active with volunteering and caring for their church community in many ways. Community and outreach are their very first priorities. Their prayers and words of faith and encouragement are deeply felt in their church and motorcycle communities. Brenda spent many years on the worship team giving praises with her violin and her voice. Chuck has been an active member in Promise Keepers and outreach programs. Together, they love meeting up for rides with their friends from the Christian Motorcycle Association (CMA) during the summer months and of course, baking delicious treats for church gatherings.

What happened:

Sunday evening, Chuck was riding his motorcycle with his friend, Scott, out on the Steese Highway near Chatanika. They were on their way home when he came around a curve and hit a patch of gravel. He lost control of the bike and went down. His helmet hit the pavement and came off. The second impact was directly with pavement. He was immediately medevaced to Anchorage where he has been undergoing scans and tests regularly. He has a fractured skull, bleeding and swelling on his brain, a broken nose and fractured sinus, a fractured rib, and a broken thumb. So far, he is responding well to some of the tests, but he has not yet been awake enough to give a verbal response, and he is still needing assistance to breathe.

Some backstory:

Chuck has been a lifelong cyclist and motorcycle enthusiast. He has done cross country road trips, and has tinkered on many project bikes throughout his 30+ years of riding. Motorcycle safety has always been one of his core values. Over the past couple of years he has been working as a motorcycle instructor. Truly a dream come true for him.

Brenda has been living in acute kidney failure for the better part of the last 2 years. While there has been some improvement, there's still a long way to go before she is able to fully care for herself. She is no longer able to work and does need help with some basic needs. She has been at his side since his admittance to Providence Alaska Medical Center. Keeping her stress to a minimum is absolutely necessary to prevent further decline in kidney function.

Chuck and Brenda's children have been rallying to the call to assist with care around both of them since the accident. Chuck does have health insurance, so the hospital transport and care should be covered, but due to needing to be in Anchorage there are other needs that are adding up. Thankfully someone in the CMA donated some time at their AirBnB, but that will end on Aug 1st, and he will likely still need a couple of weeks before they are ready to return to their home in Fairbanks.

As a family, we are grateful for any help you are able to provide and please do help us spread the word through their community so we can make this time as easy as possible until Chuck is fully recovered and able to come home. Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes.