Help Erik Heal After Snowmobile Accident

On December 23, 2024, Erik was involved in a serious snowmobile accident in Roscommon, MI. He sustained several traumatic injuries, 6 right rib fractures, 4 lumbar fractures, 2 fractures in his left wrist, a tibia fracture which required surgery and a collapsed right lung. He was seen at the closest medical center to where we were, Grayling Hospital. Due to the extent of his injuries and his age he needed to be transferred to a larger trauma Hospital. After 5 hours of the ER doctor making phone calls and getting rejection after rejection of accepting him as a patient, he was accepted by Children’s DMC in Detroit. He then had to endure a very painful ride for 4 hours in the ambulance through a horrible snow storm from Grayling to Detroit. I had no choice but to follow the ambulance so my vehicle was not 4 hours away from our home. While following the ambulance I was only able to drive 45 mph due to the terrible road conditions. About 2 hours into the trip a large truck went to pass me on I-75 and when he went to merge back into my lane he hit the front of my Yukon sending me into 3 spins and then smashing into the concrete median. The accident completely broke the rear axle in my Yukon leaving me stranded as our baby boy was in the hands of the EMT’s in the ambulance. After my in-laws made the trek to come pick me up and having my Yukon towed 93 miles home, I finally made it to Erik. He then underwent a successful emergency surgery to fix the tibia bone in his leg which was broken in 3 places. Due to all of his injuries everything is painful and difficult, breathing, and sleeping. Finally he was able to come home on 12/28/24 to our family. He has a long road ahead of him including home based school learning along with multiple doctor and physical therapy visits. Due to having to be home and take care of Erik, I am unable to work, leaving our home with 1 less income and without a vehicle. And on top of everything, Nich’s company, Heartland Steel, closed the Marysville location leaving him without a job on 12/6/24, leaving us to depend only on unemployment benefits and our savings. We need all the love and support we can get. We are so incredibly thankful that our boy is here with us, knowing the outcome could have been so much worse. The doctors say it will be 8-12 weeks before he is back to being independent and walking without assistance. Erik's father (Nich), mother/myself (Cindy), older brother (Bryce) continue to be such an amazing support system. We are asking for your help to ease the financial stress that has come with Erik's road to recovery. The funds raised will go towards Erik's rehabilitation, medical bills and for any other accommodations that Erik will need. From the bottom of our hearts we are so thankful for all the prayers and any support for our boy and our family through this unbelievable time in our life.

I will be posting updates here on Erik’s condition throughout his recovery.