Help Alex recover from spinal surgery

My name is Erin and I am raising money to support my brother, Alex, and his partner, Samantha, during his spinal surgery and recovery following a serious ski accident in Feb 2023.

Alex is an expert skier. He was skiing an intermediate run with our Dad Feb 4th 2023 in Mt Hood Oregon. He was wearing a helmet and wasn’t skiing particularly fast when he caught an edge perfectly wrong. He was ejected from his skis and landed headfirst. At first, they thought he had only broken his arm or shoulder due to extreme pain and finger numbness. Ski patrol evaluated him and advised him to go to the nearest hospital. My Dad and Sam drove him there immediately. After multiple CT scans and an MRI doctors realized it was worse than they thought. Alex had had soft tissue injuries in his neck and shoulder, whiplash, and three damaged spinal disks, and his C7 vertebra (located at the bottom of the neck) was broken. The damage was severe enough that the vertebra are loose and slipped from side to side between scans. He was life lighted via ambulance to a level 1 trauma center in Portland to be evaluated by neurosurgeons.

So far, his doctors have confirmed he will need spinal surgery to stabilize his spine. He is likely to make an almost full recovery but may need rehab and follow-ups with a speech therapist due to the incision site being located near his vocal cords. He is fortunate to have health insurance but will still owe thousands of dollars out of pocket ($5,000 at a minimum) in addition to missing work during his recovery and other expenses, such as hotel costs for Sam while she supports him during his out-of-state hospital stay (Alex was hurt and hospitalized while on vacation in Oregon but they live in Bellingham WA).

Alex is currently in a C-collar waiting for spinal surgery (scheduled for Feb 7th). He will be in the hospital for several days following the procedure for recovery and monitoring and then will continue recovering at home. He is nervous but in good spirits and is especially thankful for Sam for never leaving his side and for our dad who is splitting his time between visiting the hospital and taking care of their dog who had been enjoying their vacation with them until the accident.

This GoFundMe will go towards hospital bills, rehab and other expenses directly related to Alex’s recovery. You may contact Erin directly for more information about other ways you can help such as dropping off food after they are home.

In the VERY unlikely event, this fundraiser raises more than Alex needs to cover his medical bills and expences the small remainder will be donated to doctors without borders.