Fireman injured in Motorcycle wreck

ALWAYS wear a helmet. I can’t stress that enough. Daniel’s helmet saved his life, and prevented his injuries from being far worse. 

Daniel Dellinger is a Fireman/EMT for Tega Cay Fire Department, and he also runs his own Home Remoldeling company, Reliable Remoldeling. Daniel has always been willing to help others in their time of need, and as soon as he is back on his feet he will go right back to helping anyone and everyone he can.
On June 22nd, sometime before 11am, Daniel was involved in a motorcycle accident, where he hit a car head on. Around 11:22am, I received a call from the ER Trauma nurse informing me of the accident and requesting I come to CaroMont in Gastonia. Daniel was still in the ER when I arrived just before 3pm and was shortly transferred upstairs to a room.

Most of the bones in Daniel's face were broken (although it isn't visible unless you look at the CT scan). His upper jaw was broken, and the upper pallet was also broken and open. He had surgery on Sunday, after some swelling had gone down, to plate and pin his facial structure back together. His jaw was wired shut for 4-6 weeks to allow his jaw to heal correctly. 

He also had a broken forearm, and two small fractures in his left elbow. The forearm was fixed immediately after the facial reconstruction surgery was completed. He will need physical and occupational therapy to rehab the elbow injury.  

He also has some difficulty with his right eye. The doctor’s were hopeful it was temporary paralysis given the extent of his facial injuries. As of Wednesday afternoon, he has seen an eye specialist, and they believe he may need to have an additional surgery to fix the restriction of the muscle controlling the eye movement (but that can be done later). 

He is going to be out of work for at least 6 weeks, and may be able to return on light duty at that point; however, it’s possible he may have to be out for much longer (3-4 months). It will depend on how physical therapy goes, and what happens with his eye. 

With me taking the whole week off work to be here at the hospital with him (and possibly longer) to take care of him, his week long stay in the hospital and him being out of work, we unfortunately are going to need some help paying bills for the next few months. We are unsure what his medical bills will end up costing, and have really been living pay check to pay check prior to the accident. 

We appreciate any help you are able to offer, financially or otherwise. 

We are also very thankful for everyone that has stepped up to help out already. I’m amazed by the community and how they have taken the initiative to help one of their own.