Two feet, two wheels, not enough feels. Caleb M

My fiancé Caleb Matheson, an ex Army airborne combat medic, was in a terrible motorcycle accident on August 10th caused by another man failing to stop at an intersection and hitting him with his truck. He was airlifted to the Sanford intensive surgical care unit in Bismarck, North Dakota. On the first day, he underwent multiple operations such as the emplacement of a 16 inch titanium rod to support his left shattered femur, 8 titanium screws with brackets in his lumbar and thoracic spine with burst vertebrae, a pneumothorax, broken rib, lacerated spleen, multiple brain bleeds and amnesia. There is a possibility of permanent paralysis in the lower half of his body due to the neurological and orthopedic damage with one of the best case scenarios being monopolegia in the right leg. The surgeons are optimistic and did the best they could yet can't confirm if Caleb might possibly regain some better motor functions over the next 12-18 months or if we are simply blessed to have what we do, which is his life, solely because he was wearing a helmet.

The trauma to the rest of the body proved that if he had not been wearing a helmet, along with other protective equipment such as a padded shirt, that he would no longer be with us. The incident was not his fault, yet his life is now permanently changed and we are in the hectic process of trying to get the ball rolling on rehabilitation as medical expenses have already surpassed $200,000 and he has already been stuck in the Sanford Hospital for over 2 weeks waiting on VA guidance. This whole ordeal will easily accrue hundreds of thousands more in debt due to factors of needing legal support,  further surgery within 12 months, rehabilitation/transportation costs, etc.

We did not have medical insurance at the time of the incident due to us being in a job transition phase, weeks from starting our life/careers together away from North Dakota. Caleb for instance was planning on working as a seasonal wildland firefighter, sticking to his love of the outdoors, while he pursued schooling to become a gunsmith starting in Colorado and had his plans excitedly lined up. The VA was apparently not notified of the accident by the hospital until 5 days after it happened, which is beyond a 72 hour deadline we weren’t aware of. I am supporting him as much as I can and he has people who love him greatly. We (myself, his mother, and father) are hoping for anything from advice,  support, or absolutely any helpful resources you can think of to get him out of North Dakota and into the Veteran's Affairs physical rehab process in hopefully Colorado or Utah (where my family is). His only goal is to remind people to never take what you have for granted and to build something positive out of every hand you are dealt in life. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and remember to be grateful for everything you have, please.