Cole Chiantaretto Medical & Recovery Expenses

On behalf of our nephew Cole Chiantaretto, we are reaching out to ask for your support in helping our family; his parents Lewis and Chasidy, brothers Lance and Cole as we stand by our brave 16-year-old boy, Cole, who recently faced a devastating, life-threatening, car accident. The impact has left him with severe injuries, necessitating multiple surgeries and an arduous journey to recovery.

Cole is a resilient young man with a promising future ahead of him. We firmly believe we can make a difference in his path to healing.

All funds raised will directly contribute to covering Cole’s extensive medical bills, ongoing treatments, and essential rehabilitation services, as well as any other support required for him and our family during this challenging time, such as travel expenses associated with living in a remote area where Cole attends school and works with his family on their family ranches.

Your donation, no matter the size will have a profound impact on Cole’s recovery and provide him with hope during this difficult time.

We kindly request our beloved family, friends, extended family, communities, churches, all other organizations, and even those we may not know on social media who are inspired, please share this fundraiser with your friends, family, and any & all social networks. Every contribution and share will bring us one step closer to easing the financial strain and supporting the journey to a full recovery of our amazing, living miracle, young man, Cole.

Thank you all for your unwavering support, well wishes, and most importantly your prayers during this challenging time. Please continue to pray for Cole and our family. We believe in the power of prayer, and that faith can move mountains.

We are so grateful for the many of you that have already given, but we continue to be asked how and where to send funds, and this seemed to be the easiest solution.

Below you can read the full story as told by Cole’s mother Chasidy. We will continue to update this page and keep everyone informed about Cole’s progress.

Thank you All!

Trina Jackson-Hillman (Cole’s great Auntie) on behalf of the Chiantaretto Family.

(Update #1)

Not sure where to start, but I need to start somewhere since the rumors are flying and I’d rather the truth be out rather than people making up their own stories …..so I guess I’ll start with I received the worst call of my life at 5:30 Tuesday evening that one of my boys had been in a car accident and was being flown out. It was Cole, he was by himself. He flipped his truck several times on the corral road in Bagdad and was ejected out of the vehicle landing in a pile of rocks, cactus & oak brush. When Casen & I got there WVFD was working on him and Lewis & Lance were already there (they had gone to go look for him since he wasn’t home yet, they had no clue he had been in a wreck when they went). We could see he had multiple major injuries, one being a head injury, but he was still talking to us! It was a freaking nightmare but a blessing he was talking! Thank God for Mike Love, you were our rock and our truth and Cole’s advocate. Thank you, Mike! He was flown to PHX Children’s Hospital, we watched him fly away & had no clue if that was the last time, we would see our son alive. It was heartbreaking. Upon arrival he was met by my brother, so he wasn’t alone. Once we made it to PHX we saw him in the ER & talked to a huge team of doctors & surgeons, then he was rushed off to surgery. Surgery that night consisted of a chest tube for a punctured lung, skull reconstruction on his right forehead by a plastic surgeon & a neurosurgeon and his left bicep muscle reattached from a very bad laceration. The great news is no brain swelling, bleeding or damage other than a concussion!!! Also, no spinal cord damage! The arm laceration only cut muscle and missed arteries, tendons and nerves. The reattachment was a success! We had a huge group of family to support us while waiting for his surgery to be done. Thank you all, we love you! We met him in ICU, his head was stitched up and looked amazing compared to how we left him in the ER, his left arm in a splint, and a million tubes from every direction and he was on a ventilator. First thing the next morning he had surgery on his left femur that he snapped in half. The surgery went great, a rod & 2 pins! Other injuries included facial fractures in his orbital regions and jaw, face & head lacerations, a scapula broken in 3 places, 2 broken ribs, a C6 vertebrae fracture, C6&C7 compression fractures, and 3 vertebrae in the middle of his back with wing tips broken. The good news for vertebrae is they’ll heal themselves & there is no spinal cord damage! This kid is double tough and had God’s hands on him! We had multiple doctors/surgeons/nurses tell us he’s a miracle, he shouldn’t be alive, he should have brain damage from his head trauma, this is the luckiest unlucky kid, and he’s impressive! Every surgery, test, and procedure he’s had has had the absolute best result, its mind blowing! He is doing great and exceeding every expectation the doctors, nurses and therapists give him. He has had his ventilator, chest tube, and drain for his head removed in record time and he’s talking cracking jokes, eating, getting out of bed with help and was moved out of ICU. He’ll be in a neck & arm brace for a while, he has a long hard road to recovery and has quite a bit of pain but he’s a living miracle and we thank God every minute for his Grace. We want to thank everyone that has visited us, stayed with us for days, brought us meals, sent us support, flowers, goodies, and amenities, taken care of Casen and our animals, brought us clothes and most of all continuously prayed for Cole. You all have made this journey bearable. Cole is doing outstanding and is working hard to get better, he’s a trooper and a damn tough kid! Please continue to pray for him!

Update Aug. 3, 2023

Cole spent 3 days in the PICU and is going on day 9 in the hospital. He is having a 2–4-hour surgery for his Le Fort III facial fractures tomorrow morning. Please pray for him! He continues to progress in all his other injuries. He’s having a hard time in physical therapy walking due to being unable to put pressure on his arms (left bicep laceration & right broken scapula) for additional support. The pain & muscle spasms in his leg are causing high blood pressure & causing him to pass out or come close. They are continuing to try & figure out the perfect combo of pain meds & muscle relaxers so he can tolerate walking. His spirit is good, and he is giving us a run for our money! We are hoping for a hospital discharge by early next week if everything goes well. This will be a long recovery with multiple follow-up visits and physical therapy. Cole’s facial swelling and lacerations are improving tremendously! We appreciate everyone’s love, support and prayers! Thank you all for making this nightmare bearable!

Update August 4, 2023

Cole had his first rough night since he came through his first set of surgeries. He suddenly developed a fever and started vomiting during the night. The doctors believe he may be fighting an infection, but they are not sure where. The doctors chose to go ahead and perform the surgery today. Cole was wheeled back into the operating room at approximately 7:15 am and has been in surgery for around 3 hours. He may be transferred back into the ICU due to the surgical recovery. We will continue to update you through his journey.

Update #2: Day 10 Aug 4, 2023

Cole’s surgery #3 the Le Fort III (facial fractures) surgery today went well! The surgeon was happy! 4 hours, 6-8 titanium plates & 60+screws later and back in PICU ….he has pretty bad swelling again but it should go down quickly. He ran a fever all night and was sick to his stomach so we have to figure out what is causing that before we can talk about being released.

Thank you to everyone that has supported us in every way, your support has made this bearable. People have been so giving and we are continually asked …..so gofundme seemed like the easiest solution. You can read the full story & updates.

Thank you all for the support & prayers!

‼️Update‼️ Day 1️⃣3️⃣ Aug. 7, 2023

Cole’s swelling from Le Fort surgery is going down & he can open both eyes and see well, no more double vision! His pain is under control, attitude is amazing and he’s talking again. He is up walking with our help if he gets wobbly. He’ll be on a liquid diet for 6 weeks due to the surgery to fix the broken jaw (screws & elastic bands holding it in place). The plastic surgeon clarified he has 12 plates & 50 screws in his face from the Friday Le Fort surgery, that does not count the surgery he had on his forehead July 25 the night of the accident. Overall this kid is a beast and continues to impress everyone with how quickly he is recovering from all of his major injuries. We did find he has a broken finger to add to the list of injuries but no surgery just a splint! Again thanks for all the support & prayers!

UpdateDay 1️⃣4️⃣Aug. 8,2023

Cole was released to go home after impressing physical & occupational therapy with his motivation, determination and ability to get up, get dressed & walk amongst other things! He still is having to deal with a lot of pain but he’s pushing forward. He has 7 different doctor follow up visits and a future of physical therapy but he will get it done there is no doubt. Plus one plastic surgeon who just wants us to come by to visit! Thank each & everyone who has been with us in person & spirit through this last couple weeks. We couldn’t have done this without you all! I cannot say enough about how absolutely amazing Phoenix Children’s Hospital is❤️ We had the MOST amazing surgeons, doctors, nurses, techs & janitors! We made heartfelt connections with some of Cole’s caretakers, they were amazing, we truly are blessed! Love to all!!

‼️Update: Day 2️⃣2️⃣‼️Aug. 16, 2023 We have been home 8 days now and Cole continues to heal & be able to do a little more each day. He is walking on his own a little farther everyday, we are there by his side just incase unbearable pain hits him. He is my hero! ‍♂️He essentially only has his right leg to bear the weight since his left femur break is still very painful and he can’t use crunches due to both arms being out of order for now because of left bicep laceration & right scapula fractures. He has had follow ups with the plastic/reconstructive surgeon for his Le Fort III (facial fractures) and the plastic/orthopedic surgeon for his bicep laceration & finger fracture, both were extremely pleased with his progress! He starts PT for his bicep next week. He has a follow ups scheduled with the neurosurgeon for his forehead reconstructive surgery & neck & back fractures and with orthopedic surgeon for his femur, scapula, and rib fractures in the coming weeks. He is having to deal with pain in his leg, head & shoulder(scapula) but besides that he’s doing pretty awesome. He has to limit his visiting/screen time due to, too much concentration gives him a headache, nausea & dizziness. He continues to have a great attitude, giving us heck and having a great sense of humor.

We CANNOT THANK our family, friends, communities, acquaintances, and even strangers for all of the prayers, blessings, shoulders to cry on, countless hours of being with us in the hospital, cards, meals, visits, calls, texts, daily essentials, gifts, flowers, balloons, monetary donations through go fund me, Venmo, Zelle, cash, checks, raffles & auctions and of course for all the continued love & support! And thank you so much to the awesome surgeons, doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, PT, OT, desk clerks, janitors at PHX Children’s Hospital they are amazing!!! We could never repay the the grace, kindness & support that has been bestowed upon us but we will try!!! We appreciate you all so very much❤️Thank you for turning this nightmare into a story of true care, kindness and love!

‼️Update: 5️⃣Weeks‼️Aug.31, 2023

Tuesday night Aug. 29 we had to bring Cole back to PHX Children’s ER for severe head pain/headache & vomiting. We are still here and they are trying to figure out what is going on. CT scan shows his skull and facial fractures are healing very well and there in no bleeding of the brain. They believe the migraines are rebound headaches from medication along with concussion symptoms. They are trying headache protocol which is a cocktail of 3 medications in hopes that it’s breaks the headache he’s had for days. We’ll be here until the headache breaks, he is off ivs and they are confident we can control the headaches at home. Please pray for his headaches to subside!

‼️Update: 6️⃣Weeks‼️Sept. 6, 2023

Working on the 9th night of the 2nd stay in the hospital. Cole’s migraines are under control thanks to step 2 of the headache protocol as of last Sat. morning (almost 4 days to get it in control) but his vomiting continued. He has been pretty miserable and we have been seeking answers to why he can’t hold anything down. He’s had several tests, procedures & X-rays and we finally received answers….. he has SMA syndrome which is where the fat around the duodenum(small intestines) is lost due to rapid weight loss and the aorta compresses it closing it off causing obstruction and the stomach cannot empty. I added a picture to the comments. This is due to the wreck and him not being able to eat normal due to his broken jaw. The answer is a feeding tube into the duodenum and building that fat back up around it so the aorta can’t compress it. We are thrilled to have answers and start on the journey to recovery. On a better note his X-rays of his neck came back great & he healed perfect so the C collar was removed yesterday! He also had the screws removed from his jaw and his arm brace moved to 20 degrees which means he can almost fully extend his arm that had the bicep laceration. He is walking on that broken femur quite well and his skull & facial fractures are healed very good. These are baby steps but big wins for us!