Help Cole Recover from Brain Injury

Megan Zollars is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Gretchen Grisham.

Donation protected

On Wednesday, 3/12, my baby brother(-in-law), Cole, suffered a grand mal seizure while at work. While seizing, he fell from the back of his work truck, landing on his skull. He suffered multiple skull fractures, a brain shift, and brain bleed.

He was rushed to Harborview, where their incredible team was able to quickly get him into surgery. They performed a hemicraniectomy, a procedure that removes a significant portion of skull to relieve pressure from the brain. He was intubated and sedated for a day to allow him to begin the long healing process.

On Thursday, the doctors were able to lighten his sedation and extubate him. We were overwhelmed with happiness to find he was able to talk and knew what month and year we were in. The portion of his skull will stay removed for the next 3 months, and he’ll be wearing a special helmet to protect his brain in the meantime.

Cole has weeks of recovery ahead of him. At this point, the doctors anticipate keeping him at Harborview for two weeks, before being discharged to a rehabilitation facility.

Recently, Cole started a new job as a landscaper, and signed a lease at a new apartment with his lovely girlfriend, Felisha. Cole and Felisha have been left in an extremely tough position; as you can imagine, he will be unable to work for a substantial period of time and they have months left on the lease of their new apartment. Felisha works extremely hard, but rent in the Seattle area wasn’t made for a single income.

If you know Cole, you know he has the biggest heart and would do anything for his people without expecting anything in return. Cole is the definition of “give you the shirt off his back” (he literally gave me a shirt when I spilled on myself at dinner one time).

The medical bills are already adding up, and his healing process is still just in the beginning stages. At this time, the best way we can support Cole is through prayer and financial assistance. We graciously ask that you considering donating to Cole and Felisha to assist them with medical bills and paying their rent the next several months.