Medical Expenses for James ‘Buk’ Van Patten

On September 30th, 2022, my dad was struck by a speeding car while crossing the road during a vacation in New Jersey with his family. A beautiful family vacation quickly turned into a nightmare. This accident caused him to suffer a C6 non-displaced fracture in his neck, as well as a large hematoma on his left hip and thigh. Along with this, there was a wound on his left arm and a large wound on his right leg that needed surgery. As lucky as he is to be alive, there is a tremendous amount of mental and emotional trauma that he will suffer along with those such as my mother (Laura), my sister (Emma), my boyfriend (Tyler), and I (Grace) who witnessed the accident first hand. Due to this accident happening so abruptly while we were out of state, the financial burden is going to weigh much, much heavier than it would have if we had been in Iowa. 

Anyone who has crossed paths with my dad knows that he puts every person he meets first, and loves his family, friends, and God more than anything in the world. I have never known anyone to be as selfless, forgiving, loyal, and caring to others. It’s time to give back to the man who gives so much to those around him even if it means going out of his way. He will be out of work for at least 2-3 months minimum due to this traumatic event so I have set up this fundraiser to help him and my mom out. Donations to this fundraiser will go directly towards running costs that will aid in his recovery such as ER expenses, travel to get him back home to Iowa safely, medical bills, and much more. Please, let’s show my dad that we all love him as much as he loves us and help lift the financial burden as much as we can. We appreciate every single one of our friends and family members that have reached out, new and old, and we are lucky to have such an outpouring of love and support.

— Grace Van Patten