It was another sunny Sunday afternoon in southwest Wyoming. I was returning home from an amazing weekend spent connecting with friends in Salt Lake City. Running through my mind were mundane thoughts like how I couldn’t wait to see my dog, what I could maybe find in my refrigerator for dinner, and how long it would take me to do the laundry.
It was at that moment that my reality changed forever. I was involved in a horrific car accident that catapulted my car into the air. The car rolled midair and smash back to the ground, trapping me inside. I spent 45 terrifying minutes speaking to paramedics as they painstakingly dismantled what remained of my mangled vehicle.
Since that moment, I have been fighting: fighting for life, fighting for breath, fighting for balance, fighting for mobility, and ultimately fighting for independence. But fighting is not new to me…
I battled to earn and pay for a Cum Laude Masters degree in Human Resources from The University of South Carolina. I sacrificed to become a preeminent labor negotiator with my employer of 10 years. I accomplished purchasing my own home and ingratiating myself into a new community every two to three years upon corporate relocation. The will to fight will always be in me. Only the struggles have changed.
My C5 paralysis has left me without feeling below the breastbone, very limited arm mobility, and no hand motility. Even so, I feel blessed with amazing support and unparalleled opportunities
At the moment, I am living in a skilled nursing facility because of the mortifying reality that I am unable to feed myself, dress myself or even scratch my own face. My inability to work, coupled with rising medical bills, has resulted in my placement in the Medicaid program. My dream is to be able to get out of the facility and move back home very soon. All of the home modifications necessary to accommodate my wheelchair are finished. The only thing standing in my way is a bed. Unfortunately, I need a very specific kind of bed that turns me in my sleep to prevent pressure sores. This bed costs around $40,000 hence the insurance company denying my claim.
However, I have been fortunate enough to have surgeries on my left and my right arms in an effort to gain the ability to contract and extend my arms myself. I just started physical therapy recently but it will be a long road ahead.
These surgeries, in conjunction with extensive physical therapy, provide me with the hope that keeps me fighting. I dream of owning a dog again, being able to feed myself, transfer to and from my wheelchair, and work like I have always done to pay my own expenses.
In the past, I have often donated to charitable causes such as GoFundMe and Help Hope Live campaigns. I now desperately need your help in order to receive the critical physical and occupational therapies needed to improve my quality of life and allow me to move back home again.
To help with the crushing financial burden of my mounting medical expenses, I have established a fundraising campaign with Help Hope Live, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community based fundraising guidance to patients and their families for more than 30 years. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law and are held in the South-Atlantic Catastrophic Injury Fund. Donations are released by Help Hope Live for injury-related expenses only. Please consider a contribution .
Family and friends of Hogan Vansickle are raising money to pay for uninsured medical expenses associated with Catastrophic Injury.
Hogan has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility to the full extent allowed by law for donors. Donors can be sure that funds donated will be used only to pay or reimburse medically-related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.
For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.
Thank you for your support!
