In June 2013 our son Josh was involved in a single car accident. It is believed the steering box had collapsed as he was driving at 100km/hr. The impact as he hit a tree was huge and his journey to recovery had began. His beloved old Nissan Patrol was a write off. This was the least of our worries.

Over the next year Josh's recovery was slow and faltering. He was in constant severe pain but was walking un aided. As we lived in the country and a bit out of town Josh was feeling very alone as his pain confided him to bed a lot of the time.

In April 2014, Josh was missing going out with his friends so the boys organised to go 4 wheel driving. Josh decided to give it a try locally and the plan was to take it very slow and easy if he could do it at all. I guess you need to try and we thought it was a healthy step forward. (Josh's granddad had loaned Josh some money to buy yet another Nissan Patrol) - no longer usable.

Later that morning, Anthony got a garbled message to ask if Josh had Private Insurance by one of his mates? The phone dropped out...
We did not know what had happened or where they actually were?
We kept ringing and texting and couldn't make contact only to establish in pieces that Josh had an accident and the air Ambulance were attending. We felt sick. We had no detail.

We rang 000 and requested any information on any accident involving a 20 year old boy. It was confirmed Josh had been involved in a roll over and all emergency services were on scene. We knew he had to be cut from the car but at that point Josh was literally being uploaded into the air ambulance and we couldn't get any other information. At that point I jumped into my car and started the one and a half hour drive to Melbourne still not knowing which hospital he was going to?

It was the Alfred Hospital. Josh was alive but we could see we were in for a very long road to diagnosis & recovery & rehabilitation.

There is no happy ending to this story yet as after several attempts at impatient rehabilitation, Josh progressively got worse and is now generally in bed other than to attend Medical appointments. He cannot stand at all, requires at hand assistance.
He is paralysed from the waist down, has altered strength in one hand and has constant spasms and pain

It is diagnosed that Josh has FND which is where the brain remembers the trauma of the accident and in effect the neurological messages from the brain to his legs etc are either scrambled or frozen as in shock. He also suffers PTSD & TBI - HBO is believed to reignite areas of the brain that may be dormant (in simple terms)

We would like to fund Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment which is recognised in America and other countries, but not covered by Medicare here. We are trying and have tried everything as parents do. This is beyond us and our goal is to give our son the chance of walking and having a life. It is expected that he will require approximately 200(+/-) sessions with the initial improvements being felt after the first 50. Brain imaging & blood testing is done after each 50 hours to track improvements.
To learn more about why we would like to try HBO go to www.oxymed.com.au

Update:  Just been made aware of a Clinic in Australia that specialize in FND - Mater Hospital Brisbane so this may be an option for us.  We will see if we can get in for rehabilitation.

*Additional costs not included in Medical Expenses:

Car
To help with Josh's independence we require an automatic car fitted with hand controls that would enable Josh to get himself to his own Treatments & future independence.
$ Cost TBA

Wheelchair
A lightweight foldable wheelchair to self disassemble and sit in car.
Cost $5,500 (Quotes obtained)

Travel & accommodation
As Josh lives approximately 1.5 - 2hrs travel from Melbourne (depending on traffic) he doesn't often have the capacity to travel long distances in one go.

Acknowledgement
We thank 'YOU' as a family for any donation large or small.
Without your support we could not move forward.

Josh we are doing this for you because we love you and you have never complained & always worry about everyone else..
We love you being in our lives & want you to
Get better!
Love Mum, Dad, Sarah & Amy xx