Justin is a victim of the Waukesha parade tragedy

My name is Kathy, but I am better known to the young man pictured above as Nana, his grandmother. Justin was one of the South High School band members who was hit from behind on Sunday night by the SUV that barreled through Waukesha's Christmas parade. Thankfully, his physical injuries were not life threatening, but include a sprained neck, sprained ankle, bruised back and ligament damage. However, the emotional damage to Justin and anyone else who was injured or even witnessed this tragedy is more than one can imagine. As a grandma, I worry what this will do to change him and how long it will take to get over something like this, if one ever can get over it. I also worry about the back/neck injuries coming back to haunt him as he ages. Justin is a senior at South and has just blossomed into a wonderful young man, working part time at Meijer's, and taking part in South's Marching band at community events like this parade. I worry that this event will taint his love for music. He plays the tuba and several other horns and has recently begun playing guitar.

I believe Justin, and his family, will continue to need counseling for quite some time. Between his tuba, his band uniform, his hospital stay, and possible ongoing treatment, this can become quite a financial drain on the family. Donations will help tremendously with all of the needs....replacement of instrument and uniform, medical bills, and the ongoing counseling that will be needed. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by this horrendous tragedy.
Lastly, I have named Julie Golackson (Justin's mom and my daughter) as the person who will oversee and distribute the funds that are donated.