Hi. My name is Alex. My brother Harry is my Irish twin... we were born 345 days apart (oh Mother, you've endured so much...) and share about three weeks a year being the same age. We were, besides obvious developmental differences, raised in tandem: taught the same values, given the same opportunities, had the same advantages bestowed, and experienced the same familial dysfunctions, simultaneously.

In spite of this (or because of it, ask the therapist), we each developed our own fierce sense of independence and identity. He was the rebel with long hair, I was the preppy academic. He excelled in sports, I excelled in band. He was defiant, I was obedient. He was the hedonist, and I was the philosopher... although it must be said that he can be awfully insightful with far-sighted vision, and I can be awfully focused on obtaining the near-sighted pleasures of the moment. We both act against our better judgement.

I'm saying all of this to get in front of objections raised by those who might feel that my brother is undeserving of charity. It's true, he's been addicted to various substances for most of his adult life. And that is a choice - his own - that he has, for whatever reason, chosen to be the most suitable to deal with any particular situation at hand. More likely, to escape the negative emotional consequences of his situation in total. Anyone who loves an addict realizes this, I think.

I would never plead for help to get him out of a hole he has dug for himself. And one could argue that the hole he's in now was one of his own digging. But in March of 2025, he was transient. He was living in one of several temporary lodgings, none with running water, electricity, or heat. He walked everywhere, and this is what ultimately led to where we are today.

Sometime after midnight on March 22, he was walking back to wherever he was staying that night, and was hit by a car. The driver didn't stop, and left my brother for dead in a ditch by the side of the road. Thankfully, he was seen by another passing car around 8am, and they called 911. He was taken to Christiana Hospital, where he was treated for a fractured skull, fractured C5 vertebrae, numerous broken bones in his hands and legs, numerous lacerations across his body, and a ruptured spleen.

It is truly a miracle that he survived that night, that he is not brain damaged or paralyzed... and a mercy that he has no recollection of being hit, or of lying broken and freezing on the verge of death in a ditch all night.

Months later his recovery is going well. He has metal rods in his leg and hand and is gaining better use of them very slowly, but surely. He is living in state-sponsored transient housing while he convalesces. He is clean and sober, and focusing on rebuilding his life from the ground up. However, while he finds himself finally with a clear mind, he has a broken body unable to fulfill his goals. He is unable to work (he's a general contractor by trade) and will be unable to for the foreseeable future. He has a small amount of support from friends and family, but really only enough to provide bare essentials (food and clothing, basically).

So, I'm reaching out on his behalf for financial support. I don't know the extent of his medical bills, but he will need housing in the upcoming months, transportation, etc.. Truthfully anything anyone can spare is much needed and appreciated beyond my ability to express. I wish I could give him everything he needs, instead of relying upon the generosity of strangers, but here we are.

Thank you, everyone, so very much.