James Kluth Jr Road to Recovery

On April 21, 2021 our area had light snow overnight and at 5:30am, James (Jamie) was on his way to work when he hit black ice.  Jamie does not remember the accident and all we know is what the responding officers told us. Jamie was headed south and on an overpass he hit the black ice.  His truck entered the grass median, rolled, and after hitting the center guardrail he went airborne.  He traveled over two northbound lanes and ended upside down on top of the outside northbound guardrail. 
Thankfully he did not continue over this guardrail because it is on the edge of a steep decline with a culvert structure at the base.  Because of the time of day and how steep the decline is; it would have been difficult for him to be seen. Jamie was absolutely embraced in protection this day!! In addition, to him stopping on top of the guardrail.  His life was saved by five earth angels who stopped to help.  They said that Jamie was bleeding profusely through multiple head traumas. Four of them helped lift the truck enough, so that the last individual could crawl in through the smashed window, unbuckle him, pull him out, and apply pressure to his biggest wound and kept Jamie talking until the paramedics arrived. One day, hopefully we will know the names of these five heroes and be able to meet in person.  Fortunately, we know the names of three out of the five.  Our family will forever be grateful that they stopped and  saved Jamie's life that morning. 

Please forgive us as this next portion describing his injuries does get "wordy."  At the ER we were told that Jamie wounds were as follows:  he was extremely disoriented and did not understand why he was in the ER, his body was covered in bruises, cuts, scrapes etc., he had multiple fractures between his neck, face, and skull, the right top of his head had been "degloved" or torn back which exposed air to his skull, there was extensive bleeding on the right side of his brain and it had moved to the left side, his right eye was massively swollen shut and his left was swollen partial shut. He needed to have a section of his skull removed to remove as much of the blood from the brain and the portion of the skull was put back. We may have forgotten some injuries, but the main focus is the traumatic brain injury of his frontal and parietal lobes. 
Fast forward to today.....Jamie is a determined individual and with many continuous prayers and support he is healing well. Jamie spent one day shy of two weeks in the hospital and now he has been moved to an inpatient rehabilitation center.  Here he will work daily with speech, occupational, and physical therapist. He will need to meet with specialist after he completes time at this facility.  It is unknown as to how long he will be there and when he'll return to work. This is why we are reaching out to YOU for continued support both through positive thoughts and prayers AND financial support. 
As many of you can imagine, the medical bills will continue to build and follow Jamie through what could possibly be at least a year or more of healing.  In addition, Jamie was the provider to his family and the decrease in income will be felt as the normal month-to-month bills continue as well.  We have seen it said before and we would like to repeat it......We understand that everyone is struggling now and we are not the only fundraiser asking for support.  We absolutely would be grateful for ANY support you are able to give.  Unquestionably, no donation is too small.....this common statement finally hit home when we saw that Jamie's FB page had over 6,000 views of the story of his accident.  Just imagine if each of those views donated $5 we would exceed our goal.  We had a difficult time trying to decide what our financial goal should be.  We have no idea as to how much of a financial strain our "bump-in-the-road" is going to burden our family.  We do know that our out-of-pocket limit is about $12,000 for the first year, but how long does a TBI (traumatic brain injury) healing process take?...…then to add the possibility of loss or decrease of income and continue travel expenses and month-to-month "normal" expenses. As you can see, it is difficult to put a number on our possible needs. 

Here are a few statements from Jamie's family:
Hello, I am Deb, Jamie's wife of 20 years (April 12). I am grateful for this platform to seek support both financially and prayers of healing.  This is a difficult situation to be in and I realize our family is going to need the support of others.  I was told, by my son, "I need to let go of my pride, so that I am able to receive the gifts and love of God."  That hit me hard!  Jamie and I, along with our boys, have always been the givers and helpers.... from helping at fundraisers, volunteering for great organizations, continually stopping for those stranded at the side of the road, and to getting help for animals with injuries. (the best memory is getting an owl to the wildlife sanctuary). We believe, and raise our boys, that people are designed and meant to help each other and one day karma will be there for them when in need.  Jamie and I live by helping others and I never thought for a moment we'd one day need to be on the receiving end.  I have heard others say this in the past and I never gave a thought as to how meaningful and emotional it would be to say those words and accept support from others.  Now I know! We have all have read about how giving and dedicated a person is...... and Jamie definitely is the walking definition of a giving and dedicated person.  If you have ever been around Jamie you know this to be true. 
Jamie was a dual native of DePere and Sturgeon Bay, WI.  He spent most of his time growing up in and went to school in DePere.  His early years he lived in DePere with his Mom and spent time in Sturgeon Bay with his Dad. Jamie continues to have ties to DePere and Sturgeon Bay.  He works in DePere and lives in Sturgeon Bay with his family.  Jamie is a very talented cabinet maker and a jack-of-all-trades.  He is a member of the local volunteer fire department and serves along side his oldest son. He loves being outside and always being on the move.  This is the reason we are hopeful Jamie will be able to continue with his hobbies and the work he enjoys.
Hello, I am Trae, Jamie's oldest son. I wanted to share a quick message with you about my Dad. We are both on the local fire department and enjoy being able to serve our community side-by-side.  He has been by my side always.  Dad has taught me so many things and helped me become the person I am today. We enjoy working together around our home.  He continues to teach me new thing and I look forward to one day passing down to my children. He hasn't taught me just skills and a great work ethic, but how to live and serve life.  My favorite memories with him are at all the summer Boy Scout camps he attended with both my brother and me.  He continues to have a huge impact on my life and others around him.
Hello, I am Andrew, Jamie's second son.  I also wanted to share a quick message about my Dad.  This picture was taken on my birthday last year. We all went together to donate blood and rewarded ourselves with custard.  My Dad is someone that helps people when help is needed and goes out of his way to make sure people are good.  My Dad is a Father that does work many hours at work, but still continues to spend time with me when he is home.  My Dad is a caring part of my family and our community. 
We would like to thank YOU for taking your time to get to know Jamie!! We look forward to continued positive progress forward during Jamie's healing process. We will continue to give updates through his healing process. 
WE give thanks and are grateful for all of you, even though we may never meet...we will continue to feel your support.  XO
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. -2 Corinthians 4:18