Help Josh on his Road to Recovery

This fundraiser is for my nephew, Josh Prine, to help cover medical and travel expenses while he recovers and travels to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to begin a series of surgeries to repair injuries sustained in his accident.

On March 10th, Josh suffered extensive injuries in a motorcycle accident.

Josh was riding his motorcycle when a car made a sharp left turn in front of him, cutting him off. Josh did not have time to avoid the car and collided with the driver's side of the car, causing the car to flip as his body impacted the top of the car and went airborne.

Josh sustained multiple injuries to his face and body. His face was crushed from the impact, requiring six plates and hours of surgery to put it back together. Along with his facial injuries, he sustained a brain bleed, broken neck, broken ribs, and both severed and severely damaged the brachial plexus nerves that control his left arm and hand. While his face and upper body took most of the brunt of the impact, he also broke his kneecap and ankle.

Josh, quite honestly, is lucky to be alive. The doctors were unsure how things would go over the next 24 hours. Law enforcement continuously checked in to see if he pulled through.

An angel was with Josh that day. A nurse was traveling in the same area and came upon the accident. She noticed he was choking on blood and unable to breathe. She had an emergency kit with her and was able to insert a tube at the scene to help him breathe.

It was touch and go for a few days, and Josh, being the strong-willed person he is, pulled through! Even though his sense of humor is still intact, he must take everything one day at a time as he learns new ways to take on daily tasks. Not only is he figuring out ways to take care of himself but also how to take care of his two little boys, ages 1 yr and 2 yrs, as a single dad. Changing diapers, getting the boys in and out of car seats, etc all require assistance due to not being able to use his left arm.

The driver of the car had only the minimum required insurance so all financial liability for medical bills has fallen on Josh. The driver would have been charged with vehicular homicide if Josh hadn't made it. Because he did, the driver was charged with illegal lane change. He has no assets or any willingness to help Josh with the growing medical bills.

Josh's former job had short-term insurance in place but it has expired. He will be able to receive long-term for now, but it is considerably less than what he was making before the accident and he will have ongoing medical expenses, PT, Medications, etc. The health insurance that was provided by his job, has now also come to an end. All PT sessions, Dr's appts, medications, etc are now out of pocket.

After a month in the hospital and rehab center, the local physicians felt they could not do anything more. Josh sought out specialists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

In June, Josh went to Mayo to meet with their team of Neurologists to see what could be done about the brachial plexus injury. Testing showed he had severed two of the nerves and severely damaged the other three. The bottom two that are severed are what control his hand. The top three control his arm.

They have scheduled surgery in October to try to rebuild the damaged nerves, by taking nerves out of another part of his body. They said the severed ones cannot be repaired. They are planning on amputation at some point but they need to wait to see how successful the surgery to repair the damaged nerves is. Depending on the progress, it will be either just his hand or part (or all) of his arm. He is looking at a minimum of two more surgeries and months of PT. Josh is also trying to figure out a new career as he was an electrician prior to the accident.

All donations will go to help cover travel to/from Rochester MN (Mayo Hospital) for surgeries, medical bills, PT appointments, medications, Dental work, etc.

Everything helps and is very much appreciated!

Please, if not able to contribute, please consider sharing our link.