Nathan’s Fight: Help Us Support His Recovery

My brother Nathan was in a motorcycle accident during the early morning hours of March 28th. He was not wearing a helmet, and a deer jumped out and hit him. He was thrown into the woods. Luckily, a kind neighbor heard the crash, went outside to investigate, found Nathan, and called 911.

He was airlifted to LVHN Muhlenberg. He had a double pneumothorax (collapsed lungs), a right clavicle fracture, and multiple fractures on the right side of his face. He also had two major brain bleeds, and his brain was sunken down onto his brain stem. He had emergency brain surgery to evacuate the bleeds; they removed part of his skull to accommodate swelling, and they also performed a right temporal lobectomy.

He was intubated and put on a vent. He didn’t really need sedation; his body put him in a deep coma while the brain started healing. After a couple of days, he was switched to a tracheotomy and was able to breathe on his own without the vent. He was moved from the ICU to the Specialty Rehab Unit at Muhlenberg.

We decided to start a medication to help stimulate his brain in hopes of him “waking up” or becoming more responsive.

He is currently not alert or following commands, but he does open his eyes and move around a lot. So much so that they have to keep him right next to the nurses' station so they can watch him 24/7 (typical Nathan, I know).

The next step will be either a rehab hospital or a lower-level LTAC, depending on his condition and responsiveness in the next couple of days.

Thankfully, Nathan is still on our dad’s insurance through his employer, and the case manager helped my parents enroll Nathan in Medicaid. But even with insurance, the bills are going to be rolling in soon. Nathan is going to need consistent and continuous care for a long time, and it’s hard enough for my parents trying to keep up with bills after taking time off work to be with Nathan, and in my mom’s case, traveling to and from FL. We could really use any love and support you can offer us. This is going to be a long, long road. I will keep everyone updated as he progresses.

With much love,

Mark, Cindy, Marissa, and Cassandra