On Wednesday, August 20th, our son Donovan was in a skateboard accident while exploring the new town he moved to 2 days prior for college. What we have pieced together is that he wrecked on a trail and walked to a community pool where EMTs were called due to his behavior and road rash. He was heavily sedated because he was combative and taken to the ER due to suspected head trauma. A CT showed several fractures in multiple places around his head and brain bleeds. He was taken by ambulance to the Des Moines Mercy Trauma Center and put into the ICU in critical condition. He was put on a ventilator, blood thinners for a clot, sedation to keep him comfortable, and a paralytic to keep him paralyzed. To monitor his brain pressure, they put a sensor in his skull. After 24 hours of maxed-out meds and increased pressure, the doctors made the decision to take him to surgery and remove the front part of his skull. As of now, his brain pressure is stable, but we are not out of the woods yet. We have a long road ahead of us before he can be woken up and see what kind of brain damage he may have. Can he breathe on his own, talk, walk, or have memory/personality issues? If all goes well, he will be in the ICU for several weeks, rehab for several months, fitting for a helmet he has to wear for 6 months before another surgery to put the piece of skull back in.

His family consists of me, mom Lacy, and stepdad David, as well as dad Jason and stepmom Heather. All 4 of us have jobs and live 2 hours away. We have been staying in hotels and staying near to make medical decisions and be there with him; however, we all cannot afford to be off work and pay several hundreds of dollars a day to be close. FMLA does not pay for a child being critically injured, so we are hoping for donations to help with the weekly rate at an extended stay hotel, meals, fuel for driving back and forth home when needed, and other expenses while some of us are on unpaid leave. Also, the amount of medical bills from his stay in the hospital and medical procedures done and that will need to be done in the future, including any care he needs, will be astronomical. If you cannot donate, please send prayers, virtual hugs, and good vibes our way. We appreciate everything everyone has done for us already or just a message that they are thinking of him.

Thank you all, God bless

Venmo Lacy-Copney

Paypal [email redacted]. com

Funds will be shared between both sets of parents.