Cameron Zick

Dear Friends and Family,

Our special Cameron Zick has suffered a very serious neck injury on Saturday 5/23 at 3pm. Several of us were hiking the Blue Lakes Trail on Mount Sneffles near Ridgway, CO when the injury occurred. After hiking for four hours, we were standing on a large boulder near the summit and surrounded by freshly fallen snow in all directions. While hanging out on the boulder on the summit, Cameron fell off the rock into the snow, hitting his head first as he landed. He went in at such a forceful angle that the immediate impact of the snow was enough to snap his neck.

Immediately after he fell and was lifted back up, everyone in the group knew something terrible had gone wrong. Cameron could no longer move his arms, torso or legs and was experiencing a tremendous amount of pain.

The next 20 hours were a blur of stress, fear and emotion. Drew and BJ ran down the mountain to find cell service to alert the police, EMTs and Mountain Rescue crews. Meanwhile Ellis, Spae and Sean stayed with Zick, carefully protecting his neck, moving him away from the snow onto an air mattress and wrapping him in emergency blankets. As both groups worked, temperatures began to drop below 30 degrees and heavy snow made a helicopter rescue impossible. All along, Cameron battled hard against the pain of his injury and the stress of the situation in hopes of a rescue.

Eventually, a 10 person Mountain Rescue team was assembled at the base of the mountain and by 8pm the team had reached the summit of the trail where the injury had occurred. The team situated Zick on a stretcher and began the intense journey down the mountain, which took over 3 hours. Zick was then transported by ambulance to Montrose Hospital where he got a CT scan, showing several fractured vertebrae and indicating the need for emergency surgery. Immediately thereafter he was rushed on to Grand Junction hospital where an MRI confirmed that he had fractured his C5, C6, and C7 vertebrae. By 10am Sunday morning an 8 hour reconstructive surgery had begun on Zick’s spine. We stayed with him every step of the way.

Zick then spent 11 days in the Intensive Care Unit at Grand Junction Hospital, where he stayed as he recovered from his surgery. At this moment, he can move his arms and legs, but has trouble with hands/fingers and feet/toes. Thankfully he is fully conscious and has no signs of brain damage or concussion. He can identify which parts of his body are touched, however, does not have the strength or ability to move these body parts on his own. As he recovers from the surgery, his family and closest friends are working through the process of choosing which rehab center is the best fit for Cameron based on quality, experience, location, accessibility, and family/friend support.

Cameron has chosen to fundraise with HelpHOPELive in part because HelpHOPELive assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility 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 Donate Now button.

He also has a Facebook page (see Cameron Zick Support Network page) and a CaringBridge.org website which will also continue to serve as message board. If you have the time, energy or means, please leave a message or a donation on the HelpHopeLive.org portal. It would mean the world to Zick and his family to know that he has your support for the journey ahead as there will be a lot of unknown out-of-pocket and uninsured expenses throughout the years. Please also keep Cameron in your prayers and thoughts over the next few months as we help bolster Zick’s (already strong) willpower.

We love you Zicky!

Ben, Drew, Ellis, Sean, and Spencer
and
Mom, Dad, Tim and Laila

Thank you for your support!