This past April 16th, my father Aaron Brown’s world changed forever. Once an active, adventure seeking semi-retiree, Aaron pursued a new found love, Motocross riding. While riding one afternoon with good friends at a track in Portland, Oregon, my father crashed his bike and sustained a major spinal cord injury. With an underlying case of spinal stenosis, when he crashed his motorcycle the vertebrae crushed his spinal cord and severely damaged the nerves surrounding his spine, causing partial paralysis. While his spinal cord is still intact, Aaron has suffered permanent disabilities and he is now a partial quadriplegic. This type of injury means that my father’s spinal cord is still intact, but is severely damaged beyond repair. Certain muscle groups are still working for Aaron, but he must undergo therapy in order to keep them functioning. This means with hard work, commitment and physical therapy, Aaron could possibly regain mobility. Aaron is blessed in that he is currently able to move his arms and shoulders, but with extensive physical therapy and the right program, Aaron and his medical team are optimistic that he can regain more function of his injured body.

Of the many circumstances that have changed for Aaron, he is now facing the new financial burden of lifelong medical care costs. Aaron’s out-of-pocket medical expenses have been steadily increasing and extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation fees are not covered by his health insurance. Co-pays and deductibles, doctor appointments, therapy fees, wheelchair and van expenses, and even home modifications are expected to cost well over $200,000. Medical expenses for this type injury are enormous — and are expected to last a lifetime for both Aaron and his family.