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Family seeks help for comatose 21-y-o after horrific bike crash

Published:Monday | January 16, 2023 | 1:05 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Joshua Hanson.
Joshua Hanson.
Michelle Morgan-Jones and her nephew Joshua Hanson, a road crash victim who is battling for life in a coma.
Michelle Morgan-Jones and her nephew Joshua Hanson, a road crash victim who is battling for life in a coma.
Michelle Morgan-Jones breaks down as she reflects on the state in which her nephew, Joseph Hanson, is now lying in hospital after a motorcycle accident on January 8. The family is seeking assistance in the form of blood and monetary donations as well as sp
Michelle Morgan-Jones breaks down as she reflects on the state in which her nephew, Joseph Hanson, is now lying in hospital after a motorcycle accident on January 8. The family is seeking assistance in the form of blood and monetary donations as well as spiritual contributions in prayer.
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Last October, Cameal Gibbs buried her first son, who died from an illness, and she is now clinging to a thread of hope, praying not to lose her last and only surviving son, Joshua Hanson, a road crash victim now in a coma.

Hanson is currently being treated at the University Hospital of the West Indies after being involved in a road crash along the roadway in Junction, St Elizabeth, on January 8, two days before his 21st birthday.

Closed-circuit television footage of the accident shows a black sports utility vehicle making a right turn across Hanson’s lane as the motorcycle he was driving slammed into the side of the vehicle. He was taken to the Mandeville Regional Hospital by the driver of the vehicle.

Hanson, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained extensive spinal cord damage, multiple facial fractures, haemorrhage of the brain, a bilateral broken femur, and respiratory failure.

The medical team has done surgery on his broken leg and has inserted a tube to help him breathe.

He still needs spinal surgery, brain surgery, and facial surgery.

In addition to addressing the trauma, Hanson will need nutritional intervention, a feeding tube, along with diabetic management, given that he is also diabetic.

In the long term, Hanson, who is without health insurance, will need speech therapy to help him with recovering his communication and eating ability while building his cognitive skills. He will also need physical and occupational therapy for mobility.

His teary-eyed aunt, Michelle Morgan-Jones, said that her husband was in the line of traffic behind the vehicle Hanson collided with and was shocked when he realised it was his nephew.

Speaking with The Gleaner on Sunday, she pleaded for persons to assist the family by giving blood, making donations to a GoFundMe campaign established for him, and most of all, to pray that God grants him a full recovery.

“I have two biological sons, but Joshua is like my son. Our family is so closely knit, and just to see him there, it tears my heart to pieces. His mother is devastated. I am devastated,” Morgan-Jones said.

“Just going to the hospital to see Joshua in that condition, it tears my heart to pieces. He’s just 21 years old. I am seeking everyone’s help. Joshua needs help financially – a lot. He’s going to need a lot of surgeries. It’s going to cost a lot … . We are craving your spiritual support because we know there is power in prayer, and we know that God is still in the miracle-working business,” she said.

Morgan-Jones recalled some of her most memorable moments with the nephew she cherishes.

“Each time he comes to the house, I would encourage him because Joshua’s dream and aspiration is to be an entrepreneur. He wants to have his own business because his father is a mechanic and he also is a good mechanic, so he had hopes and dreams of owning his mechanic shop,” she said.

A graduate of Manchester High School, Hanson is scheduled to begin pursuing a course in mechanical engineering at the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Vocational Training Centre in Junction in May.

“He is such a well-mannered child, and even when, at times, I would reprimand him, he would never have an attitude,” she said.

Hanson had planned to host a birthday party for himself at his mother’s bar and restaurant in Junction, St Elizabeth, on January 10, and although that did not materialise, residents of St Elizabeth hosted a fundraiser in honour of his birthday, over the weekend, at the same location to assist the family with his medical expenses.

Morgan-Jones told The Gleaner that it was well supported, adding that the family was very grateful.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com

How you can help

The GoFundMe campaign address for Joshua Hanson is https://gofund.me/97bd1918.

The family is also seeking donations of blood and prayers for Joshua.