Andrew (Drew) Cyrulinski

As some of you know my niece Ashley's fiancé Drew Cyrulinski was involved in a motorcycle accident last Thursday night coming home from work.  Drew was thankfully found shortly after the accident by a co-worker who was traveling home in the same direction and called 911 and Ashley.  I am sure that many of you are wondering how the accident happened, well it was a result of Drew trying to avoid hitting a dog that entered the roadway on a roundabout.  Fortunately, he was not traveling at a high rate of speed and was wearing a helmet, but this did not prevent him from being thrown from the bike and sustaining life threatening injuries.  Since the accident Drew has been in the SC-ICU at Lee Memorial and has undergone two surgeries.  Drew's injuries are extensive; he broke 11 ribs, has a collapsed lung, has a fractured wrist aka distal radius fracture and he also broke his shoulder blade, which is a scapular fracture and the most server of the injuries is he fractured his spine, which resulted in damage to his lower back at the  T-9 and T-10 vertebrae.  These are known as transition vertebrae because of their proximity and similarity to the lumbar vertebrae.  The spinal cord and nerves correlation to these levels, along with the rest of the thoracic spine, aid in controlling the trunk of the body.  What this means is lack of function in the legs and/or torso, resulting in paraplegia.   We are praying for a miracle and gods healing for Drew however, at this time the lower extremities have been non-responsive.  Regardless of the outcome Drew and Ashley have many weeks of hospital stays and months of rehab ahead of them.  Based on the severity of Drew's injuries they are suggesting a rehab facility in Jacksonville as one of the possibilities best suited to handle Drew's injures, which means a lot of expenses that will not be covered by medical insurance such as loss of work for both Drew and Ashley.  Fortunately, Drew did have medical insurance, but it does not provide for short- or long-term disability.  The loss of work and mounting medical bill deductibles among other needs is going to be financially devastating for Drew and Ashley.  So, as a family member and someone who loves them both I am asking all of my friends and family as well as theirs to consider donating to help them and to share this with your friends and family because every donation no matter the size and every dollar matters at this time.   It is never easy for someone to ask for help, but I know that they are going to need the help in the coming weeks and months as Drew recovers, so in closing I am asking you to help me help them.