||| FROM JENNIFER LEHR |||
In a moment, life can turn from Healthy…to HELL, and that’s precisely what happened to Islander Brian Milligan on May 4th. Brian was visiting Poland when he was involved in a horrific motorcycle accident – he was cut off by a car and crashed. He has multiple fractures in his neck and back, as well as injuries in his leg and foot. He was also diagnosed with Bertolotti’s Syndrome, a bone disease that also will require surgery eventually. The specialist also found a blood clot in the back of Brian’s skull.
Brian Milligan
Brian was released from the hospital (he should not have been released) in Warsaw after multiple days and returned home to Orcas on May 21st. Since then, he has been selling everything he can to pay for surgeries and survive, as he cannot work at this time. Then, on May 27th, experiencing excruciating pain in his head, he was airlifted to Bellingham due to the blood clot in his brain. He needs neurosurgery that can save his life and other surgeries.
Brian’s business is Helping Hand, and he has worked as a skilled handyman, mechanic and landscaper for many on the island. Brian enjoys helping people and had to be seriously coaxed to allow his friends to ask for help for him. He needs multiple surgeries and time to heal before he can figure out what kind of work he will be able to do, as he is in a lot of pain and is incapacitated at this time.
Quite frankly, we do not know what his medical bills will cost, but they will be significant. We expect them to be much higher than the amount we are trying to fundraise for.
UPDATE: Brian has connected with the Orcas Community Resource Center and hopefully they will help him with some resources. He currently has an appointment at UW Harborview July 1st to set up a consult with a provider before they will schedule any surgeries. Once we see what his AppleCare pays for, we may need to reduce the amount we are raising so that he has money to survive, but does not lose his insurance. We do not yet have enough information about this. Thanks to everyone who has donated.
LINK: https://gofund.me/c812cc4d
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