Support James' Healing, Recovery & Fresh Start

In November of this past year, while visiting family in San Antonio my brother James experienced a horrific accident. He was on a walk on a rural road, when he was hit by one car and run over by a second. He was taken to the trauma hospital in San Antonio, where they confirmed that he had sustained injuries to 75% of his body. He spent just shy of a month in the hospital getting life saving surgeries and care, and was released to recover at home bound to a wheelchair and in need of help for every day tasks. His recovery journey has been a miracle - we're so grateful he pulled through and is working so hard to heal. But between the bills that stacked up while he was in the hospital while we were going back and forth between Austin and San Antonio, the $130,000 in medical bills that we are fighting to get addressed, and the fact that his family has no source of income while he is recovering half a country away - we're drowning and need help.

== FUNDRAISING GOAL ==

I will include the entire story of what happened & how things are going below, but wanted to explain that we are fundraising specifically for the needs that exist beyond the $130,000 hospital bill because it is our hope that we can get charity support from the hospital for that since he is from out of state with no medical insurance. What we are fundraising for a total initial goal of $6,500 which includes:

Any donations we get beyond our goal will go to getting James the nice-to-have's like physical and occupational therapy (which is really mandatory, but due to costs it isn't something we can afford), talk therapy to help process his traumatic experience, his family's future living costs and possibly a plane ticket to get him a short visit home to Washington state to see his sons and wife for the first time four months to help bolster everybody's ability to cope with the long term separation caused by his long term medical care.

There are a lot of awful things going on in the world and I know many of us are in need. But given the series of tragedies our family has faced the past two years paired with the reality that I was included in the large scale tech layoffs last year, that anxiety around my unemployment and emergency savings dwindling, while being a single parent who still has to keep my kiddos cared for and fight to keep my own bills paid - I'm admitting that I can't do this alone anymore. I'm usually on the other end of this kind of request - but I'm trying to set aside embarrassment that I can't magically make all this work and admit that I need to lean into this incredible village I am blessed with and ask for help to get through this.

This fundraiser isn't just about paying some bills - it's about giving my brother a real chance to fully recover from his terrible accident, it's about making sure that he doesn't have to worry about his family being evicted or not having their basic needs met while he is here fighting to recover so he can get back home to them, and it is about giving me a fighting chance to help him do this without losing my own home or ability to provide for my family in the process. This fundraiser can have impact that will ripple through my family's life for years to come. And it means the world if you are able to contribute, share it with your network, or engage with it on social media so that it makes it in front of the folks who might be able to help. Y'all are my community, and I'm so grateful that community means we don't have to do hard things alone.

== THE FULL LENGTH STORY ==

On Nov. 20th, my brother James was in San Antonio visiting family when he experienced a freak accident. While on a walk in the neighborhood, he was suddenly hit by a car. While we're still unclear about all the details, we've put pieces of information together to discern that the driver did stop - but only to take his wallet and jewelry before leaving him for dead on the side of the road. Tragically - another car came down the road and saw a "pile of trash on the side of the road" (per police), but didn't realize until after they had run my brother over and gotten out of the car to see what happened - that it was not in fact trash but a human body. Thankfully, this second driver did the right thing and called 911 - staying with him to keep him stabilized until police and medics could arrive. I got the call from family members at 7:30AM that the police had contacted them and asked them to "come to the hospital to ID him" because his injuries were too severe to recognize who it was.

On that first day, James was in the emergency room receiving assessment to stabilize him for 9 hours - because his injuries were so complex and numerous for the doctors to know where to start with his life saving care. They told us that he had sustained life threatening injuries to over 75% of his body - included crushed orbital bones (eye sockets), a broken nose, damage to his sinuses, a damaged vertebra in his neck, a complex break in one shoulder, complex breaks in all but a few of his ribs, a crushed pelvis, damage to his knee, and two toes crushed potentially beyond repair in one of his feet - as well as damage to his lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, bowel, and bladder.

Over the course of those 3 weeks - James had many life saving surgeries and procedures, during which they kept him intubated and sedated. We waited in agony trading off shifts staying by his side 24/7, wondering if he was going to make it. It wasn't until 2 1/2 weeks into his hospitalization that the head surgeons were able to tell us that they felt he had a fighting chance at survival. It was terrifying as we sat over him waiting for them to remove his breathing tube and show us he was still in there. He was a fighter though, and despite sedation - he would use a "thumbs up" or "hang loose" to respond to questions. Nothing felt better than when he would squeeze our hands to let us know he was still with us.

After they removed his breathing tube, things suddenly started moving very quickly. He did have to have an unexpected surgery to put a shunt in his pancreas that they thought might set him back a bit in recovery, but he took it like a champ. And at 3 1/2 weeks they let us know that because all life saving surgery was complete and he had responded favorably to the process of being de-intubated and woken up, that they intended to send him home for recovery - with follow up visits being out patient over time. Really, he just needed time to let his body heal - and for doctors to see which injuries would need further support to heal correctly, and which were on the best path forward.

The mixed feelings were indescribable - because on one hand we were able to bring him HOME! Something we never knew if we'd get to do again. And on the other hand, it was terrifying because they were sending him home with me bound to a wheelchair, his injured foot booted with cumbersome and scary external pins that needed to be protected, and needing help for all his personal care like relieving himself, showering, and getting dressed. They were sending us home with good news - but no resources or guidance on how to navigate it effectively. So bringing him home and creating a new routine became our whole life - furniture was rearranged and obstacles removed, a bedroom cleared out to be his home base, space made at the kitchen table for his wheelchair, a shower chair purchased so that he could safely bathe, new routines built on redressing his wounds and pain patches and ensuring he was able to take his meds consistently. It didn't take long for him to feel stir crazy being taken care of, at which point he fought to heal enough to become independent for as many tasks and situations as possible despite excruciating levels of pain while his body tried to heal so many injuries at one time. It was a team effort and a long few months.

At two months after his accident - the ortho surgeons removed the awful external pins for his foot and gave him the all clear on his pelvis injuries to attempt getting upright and start working toward walking. Luckily a family member had a walker and crutches we could borrow, so we didn't need to scramble to get him these necessities for the next step. Without PT to guide us it was a little scary figuring out how to do these next steps, but by the middle of February - my brother James had taken his first steps. There was some serious happy crying that day. He can't walk for very long and has a limp, because unfortunately his foot injury is not healing the way everyone had hoped - but it is healing enough for him to begin walking and that's been the boost to his hope and confidence he really needed.

We will continue follow up appointments for his foot and to assess the healing progress of his facial reconstruction surgery (which you can barely tell from photos he had, but has left him with a lot of discomfort and pain in his right orbital socket). It's also clear to me that after we get his medical bills addressed, the next most important thing specific to him is the efforts to get him physical and talk therapy. These things would be game changers for his ability to integrate all that's happened with a focus on how to live going forward.

I wish it was a simple as just getting his medical needs taken care of - but since James' wife and two sons are in Washington state, going to his own home was not an option. Which means he has been stuck in Texas separated from his family for four months. Though they have state assistance (ex. food stamps) and a small but loving support network back home in Washington - the fact that James is the primary breadwinner in his family & his wife is disabled an unable to work, his little family fallen into great need. They have fallen behind on rent, car payments, and utilities. They cannot afford luxuries like internet, a cellphone bill, otc meds during sick season, the laundromat, or school sports fees for the kiddos. I've stepped in to help make small payments as I've been able - but they are at risk of having their car reposessed and being evicted. His sons have been through so much that we want to do whatever we can to support their stability and prevent any more tragic life altering changes for them to have to deal with. While we recognize many family's are in this situation, the reality is that no family should have to deal with scenarios like this - and his family is at their breaking point for resilience and hope.

== HOW YOU CAN HELP ==

:: DONATE :: The most immediate way to support James and his family would be to donate. Donations of any and every size will help us both take care of James' medical journey and hopefully help us make sure his family has access to basic needs and that they are able to remain housed - which we will share progress and updates about along the way so that you can feel confident your donations went where they were needed most and could most positively make impact.

:: SHARE THIS FUNDRAISER :: The second way to make impact that could have even broader impact - would be to share this fundraiser with your network. If you can share it as a post on your facebook that includes the link, or post it in your stories with a sticker link, or message it to friends and family who you think would be moved to support this fundraiser -- it would mean the world! If you see a post about it on Facebook or Instagram, even just your likes and comments and clicking share (even if you don't share it) sends the signal to the algorithm that the post deserves to be visible in as many feeds as possible. And the more people this fundraiser gets in front of, the greater the burden of working toward our goal can be spread so that lots of little donations can make a VERY BIG IMPACT.

Here's the link that you can share: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-james-healing-recovery-fresh-start

== THANK YOU ==

Thank you for being a part of this journey with us - our village is small, but if we share this fundraiser broadly and chip in together we can make a immeasurably big difference in giving my beloved brother James and his family a second chance! THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, we love you!