Please help Jake Neal

Hey everyone. Jon Gregory here. If you know me, then you know my best friend Jake Neal. And if you don't know me, you still probably know Jake. And if you know Jake you know that on top of being hilarious, he is mostly indestructible. But something unexpected and terrible has happened to him, and he could really use your help.

On Sunday the 24th of July, Jake was riding an electric dirtbike on the internal roads of Maplewood Cemetery, around the corner from his home in Durham, when an unleashed dog in attack mode ran headlong at him. The two collided and the dog was pinned under his front tire. Jake was thrown over the handlebars at 30 mph and left to slide across the asphalt and gravel. He was wearing a helmet, but Jake suffered two broken ribs, road rash over most of his body, and a severe high-energy trauma injury known as a Morel-Lavallee lesion which is an “internal degloving” and is as gnarly as it sounds. Unfortunately, the dog had to be euthanized later that evening.

Raised in Chapel Hill, and now a long-time resident of Durham, Jake has never known a stranger. Warm-hearted, generous, endearing even in his most irreverent moments, he has a way of making people feel seen and heard, and of making friends wherever he goes. Jake is in the Triangle and beyond, an indispensable figure to many locals, and one who knows their stories and the history of the area well.

Jake is also an electrician. As the owner of Electric Jake LLC, which has been in operation since 2016, he has worked hard to keep the lights on and the energy flowing across the Piedmont. He’s resolved electrical emergencies in off-hours, squeezed in jobs for friends and neighbors in a bind, and generally worked hard to ensure that everyone’s needs are met.

The injuries sustained on the 24th of July have caused Jake a lot of pain and distress. While insurance will hopefully cover a significant portion of his medical costs, he’s been unable to work for over a month and has yet to fully recover. Jake typically has a backlog of work which can be tricky to manage during the best of times, and he’s eager to see his friends and clients again but must exercise caution by not going too hard too soon and exacerbating his condition.

This campaign is to help Jake cover the work he’s missed from the accident, keep his business afloat, and save him from a burdensome debt. Jake is not the type to sit still for long. He misses his friends, neighbors, and clients dearly. If you can spare a bit to help him recover, without these worries weighing on him, he’ll be able to rejoin you all soon.

Thank you in advance for supporting Jake in his time of need.