Tanners Humble Appeal.

    First I want to say a BIG thank you for taking a few moments to read my appeal for help. If anyone feels more comfortable donating to my Venmo it is- @tannerwegher

 My name is Tanner. I am a 37 year young single male from Durango Colorado.
 
 On January 7 of 2018 I was in a horrifying and highly traumatic accident leaving me permanently disabled and in constant agonizing pain. Without help I have really been struggling and my recovery is slipping backwards. 

 COVID-19 is just making the situation so much worse.

 It’s going on a little over three years since the accident and I am finally becoming strong enough mentally to ask for the help that I’ve needed so bad and for so long. 

This happened near Rock Creek in a very remote part of San Luis Valley Colorado.


On my way up to the mountains to go camping for the night and fish the next day my car rolled more than 150 feet off the road and I was ejected far from the vehicle. I woke up face down on the Frozen cold dirt. I was very disoriented and in horrible pain. I knew my back had been badly broken.. I could not feel my legs and I could see my car on its roof more than 50 feet away. I started screaming for help. For hours, I screamed so long and so hard my voice finally gave out and I could just let out a faint whimper. I finally army crawled back to my vehicle crawled through the back window and got a sleeping bag I had for emergencies. I continued to scream and at one point saw a car off in the distance but they could not see me or hear me. My heart sank. I could feel blood pooling in my abdomen. Now I was in and out of consciousness, hypothermic and I prepared myself to die. Finally, What seems like eternity, I heard a voice yelling at me that “HELP was on the way and 911 had been called”. I thought I was dreaming. But it was real somebody found me and soon I was on the helicopter bound for Penrose Hospital and Colorado Springs Colorado. I fractured my back in four places, fractured my pelvis, Fractured sacrum, fractured coccyx, Bruised organs, bruised ribs, severe concussion and memory loss. Major nerve damage... I spent close to a month in the I.C.U and underwent major pelvic surgery. And had two big lag screws put through my pelvis from hip to hip.

 I am left with long-standing pelvic deformity and chronic lower extremity nerve impairment secondary to previously sustained traumatic injuries. This has resulted in the loss of feeling to over a quarter of my body, substantial difficulty walking, standing, sitting and majorly depleted my overall quality of life. Doctors anticipate this to be permanent. Still to this day I have substantial memory loss and overall cognitive decline. 

I know with the right kind of long term plan- therapies Supplements, lots of hard work and HELP, I could have much better quality of life. Possibly Regenerate nerves. Get the feeling in my left leg again and probably live longer...  

I still have a long, long road ahead of me and I could sure use some big help.

   My overall future goal is to to get to work and  help others going through similar devastating adversities. 


   After my accident an old friend started a Go Fund Me Campaign Over 2 1/2 years ago.I appreciate the donations it raised so much. The campaign raised a little over $1,000. It got me about a month in a hotel room.  

  My mother died when I was 16 and my father has not been In a position to help financially. No other family has kept in touch.

 I have managed to do some pretty big things on my own like find a place to live in a new city , slowly learn to walk a little bit.... That’s harder said than done when you’re recovering from those kind of injuries.

  Over the past year and with COVID-19 lurking around, and Medicaid dragging their feet, I haven’t been able to do many of my therapies. Physically and mentally  I am struggling and bills are snowballing. I still can’t afford some of the most basic things and need tremendous help with the big things.  

  This accident has been tremendously expensive and mentally taxing.

  Growing up in Durango I was very active and  played an active positive role in the lives of many people with disabilities. And some of my closest friends growing up had disabilities. I also learned how to ski as a young boy through the adaptive ski program at Durango mountain resort. These experiences have given me tremendous empathy for others and made me want to figure out a way to help. 

 My pay it forward plan.  

 The driving force behind my asking for help is that I desperately want to  heal and help others in a big way. And live a happy , healthy, fulfilling life... Dignity intact.

As I get stronger through therapies, treatment, proper nutrition, a lot of hard work... I want to do a series of hikes each one getting longer and longer, harder and harder.  Eventually getting strong enough to hopefully attempt to  walk the entire 300+ miles from Durango Colorado to Denver Colorado on the Colorado Trail.

Kind of a big deal. 

  This extreme pain I put myself through will be to raise money for children with disabilities that have little to no support and raise awareness for disabilities of all kinds. 

  I already have a few foundations in mind that I would like to raise money for when I am strong enough. The adaptive ski program at Durango Mountain resort is one of them.
 

This means a lot to me and my doctors. Doctors and physical therapists love the plan and have already hopped on board as potential sponsors as well as a few local retail stores.
I hope you will too...  

But I need a lot help Before I can get to that point.

  The money I am asking for will go to long-overdue medical and neurological  therapies, supplements, at home therapy equipment, get my truck fixed So I may have reliable transportation, and some service dog training so my dog can be of more help to me.  His name is Ozzy And he is a two year old purebred Australian Shepherd and he is the love of my life.

All these things are incredibly important for a fair shot at recovery. And to live my life to The fullest despite the adversities and disabilities.

Will you please help me get through these uncertain and challenging times? 

Even if you can’t donate money it would mean the world to me if you could please share this with your friends, family and acquaintances.

I will also be making a concerted effort to keep up-to-date with any updates in my recovery efforts.

I’m running behind on time and need to get this out there now. I am currently working on a better itemized list of therapies, equipment and costs. And I will be happy To answer any questions you may have.

A sincere thank you for taking the time to read this. I know it’s a lot and I suck at getting it out, but trust me when I say that I wouldn’t wish any of this on my worst enemy if I had one.  

Sincerely, Tanner