On May 12th of this year, I got the phone call that no parent ever wants to receive; my son, Zachary, had been in a car accident. He was an unrestrained back seat passenger in a vehicle that had hit a tree head-on at a high rate of speed. Upon regaining consciousness, Zach realized he did not have feeling from the neck down and could not move his arms and legs. He was taken by EMS to the nearest trauma center in our area, which is Monument Health in Rapid City. Upon my arrival at the hospital, I was informed of Zach's condition and the extent of his injuries, with the most serious being a cervical spine fracture involving C4, C5, and C6. As soon as he was deemed medically stable, he would be taken into surgery to repair the damage and stabilize his spine. After a long 12 hours, he was finally taken to the operating room. Along with implanting numerous plates, rods, and screws, the surgeon was also able to fully see the extent of the damage and verify that the spinal cord was not severed. Zach spent a total of 28 days in Monument Hospital, and on June 9th he was transferred to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado; Craig is one of the best neurorehabilitation centers in the country. As of today, July 25th, 2025, he is still inpatient at Craig and will be here for another month. His discharge date is set for August 28th, and at that time he will then be (hopefully) transferred to QLI, which is a post-acute rehabilitation facility in Omaha, Nebraska. Zach continues to make progress every day and has regained some function and feeling in his upper extremities. He still requires assistance with everyday tasks, such as brushing his teeth, washing his face, and feeding himself. However, he has come a long way from spending his entire day in a hospital bed to accomplishing simple tasks and being able to get around with the help of his electric-powered wheelchair. Zach's recovery journey will be long, intensive, and life-changing. As Zachary and we, his family, navigate this emotional medical crisis, we are also facing ongoing financial pressures, such as lost wages, the cost of travel, medical expenses, with the greatest being obtaining a vehicle suited for his needs, which would ideally be a van with a lift to get him to and from medical appointments since he will be returning home to a very rural area of South Dakota. Never in my life did I think that a tragedy such as this would affect one of my own children, but it has, and I am striving to make the best of it. Thinking of all the things that Zach requires (from much-needed home modifications to necessary medical equipment) is emotionally and physically draining. By raising funds, it will help to ease the burden on Zach and our family so we may focus on what truly matters: continued healing and being able to spend time with Zach while he is not home.

We appreciate the thoughts and prayers and we ask that you continue to pray for Zach. Anybody that knows Zach can attest to the fact that he has the biggest heart and the kindest soul. He's taking the hand that he has been dealt with great strength and remains positive and upbeat. Nobody deserves this type of life-changing injury, let alone Zach. He has worked so hard to accomplish many goals in his young life; the greatest, which was to obtain his CDL and be a truck driver; it was one of the things he wanted since he was a little boy. Driving a truck took him to parts of the country most of us in his family have never seen, from Chicago to Florida and everywhere in between. Despite all the obstacles he now faces, he believes he has been given and is thankful for, a second chance at life.

We are all so very thankful for each and every person that we have encountered during Zach's time here at Craig; words cannot ever describe how eternally grateful we are.

We appreciate any and all donations given, no matter the amount. If you are unable to donate, please SHARE our GoFundMe; help us to hopefully reach our goals. Thank you for your time in reading this; we appreciate you!