Hit-and-Run recovery, Car/Medical

Purpose: To raise money after becoming a victim to a random and traumatic Hit-and-Run that has cost me my car, vision, massive medical bills, and put me on short-term disability for 2 months

Thank you for visiting my Story

^(Taken last year)

My name is John Chatham. I'm 26 years old, often enjoy spending time with friends, watching TV shows and am an avid video gamer. I work in tech support and was hoping to advance my career before this all happened.

On August 24th at 10:40 PM I was driving home from work when I became the victim of a random crime. There is a stretch of road I have to take to get home where there are no street lights and it is very narrow road, and it was on that stretch of road where I was attacked. Someone in another car traveling the opposite direction threw a brick at my car, smashing through the windshield. It crushed my skull and left eye, only to bounce off and blow out my driver window. In sudden shock I was able to stop the car and see if the other driver had too, but they were long gone. Reaching for my phone to call 911, I realized it had been covered in blood and wasnt responding. Realizing I could blackout any minute from blood loss, I quickly made the decision to keep driving. I shakily made it home and got my Brother to call 911. This all happened a day before I was supposed to take a mini vacation with my family, now it has become a nightmare.

^(Taken a few nights after the attack) The "brick" imprint and busted driver window. Even though it doesnt look like it broke through, pushing on the imprint shows that the glass bends in but pushes back out, likely allowing the brick to slip in.

Rushed to the ER (about an hour after the attack), I had to have emergency eye surgery to reduce the pressure that was skyrocketing. Thanks to the quick work of the doctors I still have decent vision in my eye. 50+ stitches later my wound was nicely closed up and they monitored me for the next 24 hours to make sure the blood I had in my brain didnt cause any seizures or damage. Luckily that would not be the case for me. 

^(Taken during 2nd day in hospital) My eye had swollen so much that my eye pressure was 2-3 times higher than it should have been. Had I not recieved aid as quickly as I did its possible I could have totally lost the eye



^(Taken a few weeks after attack, but before skull surgery)Looking closely, you can see on the side of the eye where they had to cut a canal for blood to drain out. Just a red scab now, it was needed to allow blood to drain from behind my eye, relieving pressure.

Fast forward to September 12th. After several Ophthalmology and OMFS (Oral and maxillofacial surgery) visits I was finally cleared to have surgery to repair my skull. 3 Titanium-alloy plates, half a dozen screws, a mesh weave, and another round of stitches later, my surgery was finished.  For a while things seemed to be going well, but my vision and eye pressure were still not what they should have been by now.

^(Taken today, 2 weeks after skull surgery) My iris has been torn badly, vision is still yellow,distorted, and very blurry. Most of my skull above the scar is numb. I'm unable to lift my eyebrow much at all. On the plus side I look like David Bowie with my iris.

That brings us to today. Yesterday I had an appointment with an eye surgeon where they discussed and shared with me that I will be needing a Vitrectomy or face permanent vision loss. That surgery is scheduled for October 3rd, and will take a week of recovery before ill be back to normal.

When I was able to, I got my car towed and the damages estimated. Unfortunately, the car was totaled and now I'm without a car. This didnt surpise me at all, considering it was a 1999 Isuzu rodeo with over 260K miles on it and its own handful of issues. I had planned to run it into the ground before getting it replaced, but it happened sooner than I was expecting. With everything else going on the last thing I want to worry about is finding a car.

The most disturbing part of my whole story is that the person who attacked me is still at large. Several others have been attacked on the same road and another road not far away. Because all these attacks happen suddenly and Late at night, nobody can identify who is doing this, or even what vehicle they drive. I know that my situation is not the worst of them to be reported, but thankfully most people have had minor injuries to the hand or simply car damage.

Here is a link about a few of the other attacks: http://www.newschannel5.com/news/driver-hurt-when-brick-thrown-through-windshield 

I have yet to contact the Media about my own case, mainly due to just trying to recover.

The reason Im starting a GoFundMe is because I simply  have had all my finances/savings drained, and thats without even looking for a car. I've been on short-term disability since the accident, but have no guarantee of when I'll be able to return to work. My Roomates have graciously taken up my part of the rent and I've had to cancel several subscriptions and future plans just to be able to pay my medical bills and survive.

Medical expenses (rounded down):
1. Ambulance ride = $850
2. 1st day in ER = $12,000
3. Skull Surgery = $51,000
4. Vitrectomy = $22,000
5. Doctor visits + prescriptions = $3,000
Total = $88,000+

Luckily for me I do have insurance, which means most of the bills have been covered. However,  because I have another surgury planned and no idea about what may happen in the near future I can only expect my out-of-pocket expenses to rise. At this moment my out-of-pocket is $4,000

Things I need donations for:
1. Any outstanding medical billls
2. Down payment/pay for a car
3. Paying back and thanking my Friends, Family, and Roommates who have supported me through this very traumatic time in my life. I honestly wouldnt have made it this far if I didn't have them here to Support me and I want to show my grattitude. Taking time off work, helping me adjust to poor vision, making sure I took my meds/eye drops, and paying rent for me are just a few examples of what they have helped me with.

I am not in a rush to get funds. I would like to reach at least 30% of my goal by the end of October. I can afford to delay it at least that long, but any longer and I'm not certain I can hold out. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, any donations and well-wishes are apprecited. I hope that all the other victims are able to recover well and heal quickly.


TL;DR:
1. Victim of a random Hit-and-Run, assailant still not caught
2. Extensive medical intervention required
3. Car totaled
4. On short-term disability
5. Medical Bills = $72,000 total (for now). insured, out of pocket is estimated to be over $5000 but will probably go up
6. Thanks for you time