Rallying for Rob, Christi, & The Nordby Family

"The doctors figured out right away that not only was he scraped up, black and blue and swollen all over, and had two black eyes swollen shut, but my dad also had a broken neck, a broken back, 6 broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken ankle, a broken temporal lobe bone in his face, blood in his lungs, a traumatic brain injury, and the left side of his face was paralyzed."

Hi friends, family, and other kind souls who are reading this. My name is Dan Nordby, and I am raising funds for my parents, Robert and Christi Nordby. I'd also like to bring awareness to the importance of wearing a helmet when on a motorcycle- a lesson that has forever changed my life.

On Friday, June 9th, 2023, my parents were in a near-fatal, life-changing motorcycle accident. They were driving an estimated 40mph through their hometown of Mankato, MN and headed to my older brother’s house to go see their grandchildren, Forest and Orson, when a truck suddenly pulled out in front of them, cutting them off and causing them to wreck. My dad was driving and was somehow able to avoid smashing head-on into the truck. If that had happened, the ER nurse said that they both would have lost their lives right then and there. Neither of them was wearing a helmet and they were both found unresponsive at the scene. They were taken via life flight (rushed to the emergency room by helicopter) about 90 miles to the Level 1 Trauma Center at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

The first person on the scene was working at a house less than a block away from where the accident happened. She ran out and found my dad lying on his back. He was not breathing and did not have a pulse. The woman began CPR immediately and continued for the next two minutes until the first police officer arrived. As the officer ran up, my dad gasped for air. He came back to us. He could barely find a breath as the police officer took over, but he was not gone.

My mom was thrown several yards away and was found sitting, slouched over, groaning while holding the back of her head. It was immediately clear that she had a large gash on the back of her skull. She was not able to speak or comprehend what was going on at all and had blood pouring through her hands, which were covering the impact wound on the back of her head. As the police officer ran up to her, she fell backward and immediately became unconscious and unresponsive.

My parents were rushed to Mayo Clinic via life flight in Rochester, MN. They both had severe brain bleeding/swelling and my dad was not able to breathe on his own. During the life flight, it was found that my mom's brain was bleeding at a rate that ends most people's lives or leaves them with permanent brain damage due to the tremendous amount of pressure that is being put on the brain from blood pushing it up against the side of the skull. The doctors set up a plan to remove a large chunk of her skull to release some of the pressure. When the neurosurgeon came out to give the initial update, he began talking to my older brother about my mom’s will, her next of kin, and other legal jargon that implied she was not going to make it.

My dad also had brain bleeding, but not quite as severe as my mom's. The doctors figured out right away that not only was he scraped up, black and blue and swollen all over, and had two black eyes swollen shut, but my dad also had a broken neck, a broken back, 6 broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken ankle, a broken temporal lobe bone in his face, blood in his lungs, a traumatic brain injury, and the left side of his face was paralyzed. When he started becoming conscious a few days later, the only things he mumbled over and over were about my mom and if she is okay. He didn't ask a single question about his own health; his only concern was hers. After reading the reports, it is crystal clear that my dad did what he had to do to save my mom’s life. He did everything he could possibly do in that terrible situation to avoid hitting the truck head-on and to protect my mom…

…which I suppose shouldn’t come to much of a surprise considering they have been together since they were in high school and are still married. My dad sacrificing himself, and quite literally giving his life for my mom, is a testament to his devotion to her and a perfect representation of his character. Anyone that knows my dad is not surprised by his heroic actions. The fact is that Robert Nordby is the type of man that would give his life to save the people he loves. We thank God constantly that he came back to us. We also thank God for the woman who was first at the scene. She performed CPR on him until the first responders got there and saved my dad's life. This woman is a hero and is our family's angel.

My dad is still in the hospital. He still requires a lot of care, care that we cannot provide him from home. He had surgery on his spine which had each of his spinal bones between T9 – L1 fused together (the bones from the middle of his spine down to almost his tailbone). He also had two 12-inch metal rods inserted, one on each side of his spine. He is now in a back brace, neck brace, a foot/ankle boot, hooked up to more IVs and machines than I can count, covered in bruises, has a hard time talking, is confused, and can’t move his body much outside of wiggling his hands and feet.

The doctors agreed to discharge my mom from the hospital and into my/our family’s care if she agreed to follow their list of restrictions (can’t run, can’t work out, can’t drive, can’t be on her phone, etc.). She is black and blue all over, has the back of her head sutured together, has been having issues with nausea and dizziness, has had significant short-term memory loss, and has been battling with the emotional rollercoaster that comes along with having a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Of course, the mental trauma from the incident isn’t helping either. We thank God that she is still with us, but like my dad, she still has a long road to recovery.

My first goal is to raise $85,000 for my parents and family. I've calculated the costs, and so much of it depends on their progress, how long my dad is in the hospital, and how much help they will continue to require. I purposely accounted for very few unexpected expenses that are destined to come up as time goes on, so I expect the numbers will change as time goes on.

Ideally, we would get ahead on the medical bills and start with some of the high-priority expenses such as:

• A comfortable wheelchair for my dad that allows the wound on his back to heal properly

• Construction to make their house wheelchair accessible (right now it is very much the opposite, you can't get in any of the entrances without using stairs)

• Construction to give him access to the bathroom

• A shower/tub that allows him to shower while sitting in a chair, as recommended

• Buying or renting an "Accessible Vehicle" aka a vehicle that fits wheelchairs, so we can get my dad to and from his doctor appointments, physical therapy, etc.

• Meals/groceries for the foreseeable future so they don’t have to worry about grocery shopping and don't put themselves or anybody else in danger by using the cooking appliances

• A hospital-style bed that will help my dad sleep and heal comfortably

• A comfortable chair for their living room so he isn’t cooped up in his room all day in bed and allows him to play with his grandchildren and hang out with the family (his favorite things in the world) while also allowing him to do his physical therapy and making sure his broken bones heal comfortably and safely

Then there are us brothers. I tend to have a difficult time asking for help, but I am here asking for your help because of how important these people are to me. Each of us brothers have started a new job within the last 6 months, so none of us qualify for FMLA. Each of us has missed weeks of work and will continue missing work as we take turns taking shifts to stay at their house and take care of them. I expect that I will be doing the majority of this because I can do a lot of my business remotely. I will be flying from Los Angeles to Minneapolis and back every 7-10 days or so. I will work as much as possible while staying and taking care of them, but so far it just has not been possible. Between the doctors, lawyers, insurance companies, family, mental health maintenance, and countless other things that have taken my focus, I have hardly been able to work at all. I haven’t made a sale in weeks, not since the accident happened. But I have to say that the company I work with, American Hartford Gold, has been understanding and supportive during this entire process and I truly could not be more grateful for that.

Something else that has been weighing heavily on me and that I know that our family needs help with is this: My older brother, Tyler, and his wife, Sara, just had their second baby a few months ago. So not only is my older brother supporting a family of four, which includes a young child and a newborn, but he has now used all his PTO for this emergency. He is now not being paid for any time he must take off to help with this emergency. It is especially hard in this situation because there are children involved. As you’d expect, Ty and Sara are barely sleeping as it is because of their newborn, but now Ty is also staying up all night and working as many double shifts as he can, which include a full day shift plus an overnight shift, so he can provide for his family, and see/take care of my parents as much as possible. I want to give him and Sara a break so badly. I’d like to raise enough money so Ty can take off as much time as he needs without having to worry about drowning in debt, missing mortgage payments, or struggling to buy groceries for his family. I know how badly he wants to help our mom and dad and how badly he wants to go see my dad in the hospital more often, but he always has to go to work. I also know he wants to be able to help Sara with the kids more, just as she deserves. With Ty stuck at work all day and night, and my mom not able to help, Sara is by herself with the kids all day and night. I don’t know how we would have gotten through this without Sara. She is the best sister-in-law and is genuinely just an overall amazing person. She has been working so hard to help everyone in this terrible situation while simultaneously raising a young child and a newborn full time. She truly does deserve a break from time to time, or at least some help. I’m doing everything in my power to make it so that he, Sara, Forest, and Orson can walk through this extraordinarily difficult time as a family. Your donations make that possible by removing the financial burden and allowing him to afford to take time off work.

The same goes for the rest of our family- I’d like to raise enough money so we can take turns taking time off work to take care of our mom and dad without having to constantly stress and worry about rent, mortgages, bills, food, gas, travel expenses, stuff for dad, stuff for mom, etc.

The accident and the aftermath of it has taken a toll on my family and myself like I have never experienced… and as a recovering heroin addict that has been sober over 7 years, someone who was homeless and on the brink of death several times due to depression and drugs, that is saying a lot. The accident and now the aftermath, including the financial aspect of it has been and continues to be the most mentally, physically, and emotionally difficult thing I have ever been through. It has been that hard on every one of us brothers. Most of us haven’t slept for more than an hour or two at a time in weeks, and each of us brothers are having a difficult time eating. I know that I can only control so much (very little, actually) but I am determined to make the most out of the things I can control. So, regardless of how much I hate asking for help, here I am, asking my community, friends, family, and others for help. I hate doing it but I hate watching my family struggle much more. If I can help even just a little by removing some of their stress that comes along with our financial burdens, then that’s exactly what I’ll do regardless of how uncomfortable it makes me. Because I love these people more than anything in the world.

As for my situation, I will say this. I am currently in LA typing up this GoFundMe from my desk at work while on my lunch break because I literally just cannot afford to miss any more work. I want more than anything to be in Minnesota helping my parents and being with my nephews and family, but it’s to the point where I simply cannot afford to. It is honestly terrible, but financially I don’t have a choice. This is not meant to come off as a “poor me” statement but meant to be a kaleidoscope that allows you to take a brief look into the reality of our lives right now and see the physical and emotional wreckage; the chaotic mess of seemingly sharp, broken pieces. But the wonderful thing about sharp, broken pieces is that God is a builder and a sculptor; He is the redeemer. I have seen Him do what He does when He is handed broken things, and I cannot wait to see what He builds out of this.

Ideally, we’d get everything set up for our dad as soon as possible, so he’s all set up by the time he gets home. Starting with:

• A wheelchair

• Making the home wheelchair accessible

• Ramps, railings, other safety equipment

• Bathroom access

• A hospital style bed

• A chair for the living room to play with his grandkids comfortably

• There is also an immediate need for assistance for my brothers and their families, specifically my older brother, his wife, and their children, and myself. Helping us pay our bills and keep us afloat as we take care of our parents is no small task, but I’ve seen God work through people before, and I have faith that we will witness it once again here and now.

In conclusion, would you please pray with me?

Father God, I thank you for the person reading this message. I thank you for the time they took to read this and for the time they are taking to pray with me for my family. God, you tell us in chapter 5 in the book of Romans that we should rejoice in our sufferings. You tell us in the book of James to take our trials as pure joy. So, God, I thank you for this difficult time we are going through. I don’t know why it is happening and suspect I will never be completely clear on why, but I thank you anyway because that’s what you have taught me to do. I thank you for my family, I thank you for my mom and dad, and for Tyler, Sara, Forest, and Orson, for Robby, and Sophia, and for Samantha and Winnie. Thank you for my parents and thank you for not bringing them to heaven yet. God, I pray right now in Jesus’ name for miracles. I pray that you would heal my dad’s body and his brain, and you would heal my mom’s mind and brain in the name of Jesus. Lord, I remember feeling your presence on November 17th, 2013, in that jail cell in Duluth. I remember giving my life to you and I remember thinking you might be able to keep me sober. You have kept me clean and sober every day for well over 7 years now, and that is a miracle that only you could do. I remember in the beginning thinking I was walking through the fire with you. I now realize that I was not walking at all, and it was you who was carrying me through the fire. I would have crashed and burned a long time ago if I had trusted anything other than you. Lord, please help us trust you now. I ask that you carry my family through the fire right now in Jesus’ name. I pray you carry my parents through their physical and mental fires. I pray you carry my brothers and their families through their fires. I pray that you continue to carry Samantha, Winnie, and me through our fires. Lord, I ask that you put a spirit of calmness and peace into the hearts and minds of my mom, dad, brothers and our families. I ask that you bless the person who is reading this in Jesus’ name. I ask that you bless them financially, mentally, physically, spiritually, and in all other ways that brings them joy and brings glory to you, God. I pray you put empathy in the heart of whoever is reading this and that you would bless them by giving them 100 times back whatever they donate to help our family. I ask that you give them a brief look into the reality of our lives right now and see the physical and emotional wreckage; the chaotic mess of seemingly sharp, broken pieces. But God, we thank you for these sharp, broken pieces because YOU are the builder and the sculptor of life; YOU are the redeemer. YOU make the impossible possible. I have seen You do what You do when You are handed broken things, and I cannot wait to see what YOU build out of this. I have seen you do this before God, and I pray in Jesus’ name you do it again now. I pray for a financial miracle here that would remove all the financial stress that my family and I are going through, and I pray that you do the same for the people who donate. We thank you in advance for answering our prayers.

I pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Love you all,

Dan

The above description of what happened is what I (Daniel Nordby) was able to piece together using many first and secondhand witnesses, police reports, and any other sources that I was able to obtain. The text above cannot and should not be used for any other reasons outside of its intended purpose, which is to raise funds for the Nordby family in response to Robert and Christi Nordby's near-fatal motorcycle accident. This includes all past, present, and future insurance claims (all parties involved directly and/or indirectly), any past, present, and/or future litigation-related situations, and any and all other reasons besides the intended purpose of raising funds for the Nordby family.