Hello everyone, you all know by now that Brandon, our oldest brother, was hit by a car on the side of a county road late at night on Thursday, February 24th. He was leaving a bar (drunk) and driving 30+ miles back home. His car had two flat tires and he realized he wasn’t going to make it. At this point he was already over a mile away from the bar and decided to walk back. Within minutes his life was changed forever.

Brandon has struggled with addiction and mental illness for over a decade. He hit rock bottom at the beginning of the year and was contemplating suicide. However, recently (1 month ago) he decided to turn his life around and start putting in the work toward sobriety. This was his first major slip-up since making that decision.

 Thursday morning he renewed his driver’s license and was able to drive again. He was supposed to move back to Hays in early April. He had a budget written out and a savings plan setup for him. He was offered his old job back and was excited to start on Monday (2/28). He started setting goals and his perspective about life was no longer gloomy.

Since Brandon was technically between jobs when this happened, he does not currently have health insurance. His new employer has been an absolute blessing for him and is keeping his job and starting his probationary period so he will have insurance as soon as possible.
 
His multitude of injuries are:
1. Subarachnoid hemorrhage and subdural hematoma (TBI) 2. Torn ligaments and soft tissue between skull and spine - fixed via fusion of occiput to C2. No neck movement for the rest of his life.  
3. C7 facet fracture with widening of C6-C7
 4. Sacral fracture
 5. Broken pelvis
 6. Shredded tendons, ligaments and soft tissue over left knee
 7. Tibial spine fracture on left leg
 8. Broken ankle on right leg
 9. Several small fractures throughout his body
 10. Road rash

 He is bed bound until mid-late May to give his fractures and supportive structure time to heal. Brandon has a long, agonizing and dreadful road of recovery ahead of him. His quality of life will be greatly diminished.

He will be transferred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska once his insurance is approved. As of now, it is unclear how long he will be there. Hays does not offer the specialized care he will need. We ask our community to donate to this fund that will help pay for Brandon’s insurance premiums and deductibles, medical expenses and long term inpatient physical therapy.

We understand the economy has seen better days and people may not have the funds to donate. Typically, we are not the kind of family to ask for help or money. These are special circumstances and Brandon needs to receive proper care and treatment for his injuries. If you can, please donate. If you can’t, please share this message.

Lastly, if you are struggling with substance abuse or addiction please, I beg you, reach out to someone you trust and ask for help. No family should ever have to experience such a preventable tragedy. Some people may place the blame on Brandon for being drunk and walking on a dark county road. Others may place the blame on the driver for being drunk himself. Personally, I blame the alcohol and it’s ability to hijack a person’s decision making process. Please ask for help if you even think you might have a problem.