Jesus Take the Wheel

Hi, my name is Darren S. Brickle and I am fundraising for my younger brother Christopher J. Brickle. On the night of January 26, 2023 Christopher was traveling home to Crossville, TN from a dentist appointment he had earlier that afternoon. It was dark, wet and rainy out at approximately 6:30pm when he began to have transmission trouble with his small, older Nissan pickup truck. He stayed in the right lane and was only able to do about 45mph so he put on his hazards, and tried to limp it the last 6 miles to his exit ahead. A semi-truck that was coming up behind him changed lanes and started passing Christopher on his driver’s side. A vehicle who was already in the left lane and speeding, took exception to the semi for taking his lane and he made the decision to pass the semi-truck in the right lane, seemingly unaware Christopher was there. He rear ended Christopher doing upwards of 100mph, sending Christopher across the left lane of the interstate and into the grassy median and into the woods. By only an act of God Christopher miraculously survived the crash. State Patrol arrived on scene and Cumberland County Rescue who was traveling back to Crossville from Cookeville arrived on scene 2 minutes after State Patrol. A Life Flight helicopter was already airborne and close by and they landed on the interstate 8 minutes after State Patrol arrived on scene and 6 minutes after Cumberland County Rescue was on scene. Another thing that saved Christophers life was that he was wearing his seatbelt. So yes God definitely has bigger plans for Christopher in order for the stars to line up as they did.

Christopher sustained life threatening injuries and remained in ICU at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga for 8 days. He sustained a broken thoracic column, broken ribs, collapsed lung, broken left shoulder, broken collarbone, shattered left forearm which took 5 hours to piece back together, broken bones in his hand, internal injuries and bleeding on his brain. The back of his head was scalped and multiple lacerations requiring countless staples. After he got out of ICU he remained in the hospital for several more days before being transferred to a rehabilitation facility in McMinnville, TN where he remained for 12 days. Christopher was released to go home on the 15th of February where he continues his rehabilitation at an outpatient facility. Christopher has a long hard road ahead of him to be sure, and he is going to need all the help he can get. Christopher is a Master Carpenter and Cabinet Maker, and he is also a wood carver. He was working independently for several different contractors in the area, and busy with his wood carving in his spare time. He was well on his way making a new life for himself here in Tennessee. With his loss of income for the foreseeable future, he still has bills to pay. As one would expect in an accident like this there is going to be a long drawn out legal process ahead. Insurance companies aren’t going to be turning loose of any money any time soon. His medical bills are going to be crushing especially since Christopher hadn’t yet gotten any health insurance as he was just a few months living here in Tennessee and is self employed. He’s got enough on his plate just trying to recover from his injuries. He doesn’t need the stress of monthly bills, and crushing medical bills weighing on his mind. He is living with my wife and I now. We will be his caregivers. My wife Pam primarily, while I work running our business in large part without her now. We are grateful for our friends who have given of themselves so much volunteering at our business and visiting Christopher during this entire time. We are grateful for the many prayers for Christopher. They definitely work believe me. It’s not like us to ask for this type of financial help. It took me a bit of time to weigh all of our options, but this is a heavy lift that I’m sure very few people could afford on their own. So thank you for any amount of help you can give. God bless