Support the Tucker Family after Eric's Fall

On September 4, 2024 my parents, Eric and Melinda, were spending time in one of their favorite places in the world, Rocky Mountain National Park. While hiking on a well-traveled and safe trail, Eric suffered a 10 foot fall and subsequently broke his neck. The neurosurgery team described his damage as complex, and the result of a freak accident.

The prognosis is difficult—he has a C6 spinal cord injury. This means all of his limbs do not function correctly. His speaking and breathing are impaired, his arms have limited ability, and his hands and legs do not function. It is unclear if any of that damage will heal over time. The safe assumption is it will not.

Silver linings are my favorite coping mechanism and there are a few here. The first is that he lived. Secondly, he is recovering, learning to breath and talk on his own again. Due to his 21 years of service in the United States Air Force, much of his medical needs will be covered by the VA.

However, there are additional costs that are not covered by the VA. My father had not yet retired and looked forward to a few more years of life in the workforce—this is no longer possible. I can’t anticipate the total future financial costs that may come to bear for my father or any of us who love him, but I know some of them will not be covered by the VA.

To speak more on his future life, there are daily tasks many of us take for granted; getting out of bed, shopping for groceries, driving, brushing our teeth. Depending on how much he heals, these will be changed or impossible for him. Whatever abilities he lacks will have to be cared for by mother.

We are asking that you donate to this cause if you love Eric or my family, and want to make these next days a little easier for us.

I wish I could say that there have not been dark moments or great pain over the past three weeks that I’ve spent with my parents, but that is not the case. However, I can truthfully say that most days Eric has remained himself, and some of his best qualities have been highlighted by this tragedy.

Luckily, his mind is intact. Some of his first words to us were, “I feel lucky to be alive”. His sense of irreverent humor has shone through as a tongue-out-face when he was intubated. He describes his arm functionality right now as his “Edward Scissorhands”. We regularly receive thumbs up from him, sans thumb movement. Most excitingly, he has revealed the true nature of his fall… alien sabotage. Thank you dear reader for taking the time to read this and hear our story. If you happen to come across those aliens, tell them I’d like a word.