On August 26th, my 14-year-old son, Colton, was riding his bicycle when he collided with a vehicle that short-stopped in front of him. He was immediately rushed to the local emergency room, where doctors found that he had suffered a broken arm, broken jaw, a broken tooth, a busted face, and several other injuries.

Because of the severity of his condition, Colton was transferred to Ruby Memorial Hospital and admitted as a P2 trauma patient. There, he underwent extensive imaging, blood work, and multiple specialist consults. He was placed in a cast for his arm and began treatment for his other injuries.

Since then, Colton has been healing, but his recovery is far from over. He faces several weeks of physical therapy, ongoing dental work, and he won’t be able to chew solid foods for months. While I am grateful that his healing is progressing, the road ahead will be long and challenging.

In just these past two weeks, I have already missed many hours of work and faced additional medical expenses and copays. Unfortunately, I am fully responsible for all out-of-pocket costs until our lawyer can begin the insurance claim process. I have inquired about financial assistance programs through WVU Medicine and am seeking every possible resource, but in the meantime, the medical bills are already beginning to pile up.

As a single mom working full-time and attending nursing school, I live with constant financial insecurity, and right now, I simply cannot take on any extra jobs to supplement income to cover these mounting costs. My main goal is to keep things as stable as possible for Colton while he heals.

We know times are hard for everyone, but if you’re able to help us, even in a small way, we would be so deeply grateful. If you can’t donate, your advice, encouragement, and support also mean the world to us.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for keeping Colton in your thoughts as he continues down his long road to recovery.