Christian Maas, a 21 year old who graduated from Eustis High School in 2010, was severely injured in a single car, non-alcohol related car accident on Father's day, June 16, 2013. He lost control on a small back road and hit a plank fence at an unusual angle causing many of the wooden planks to go through the windshield. One board penetrated his right skull causing brain trauma & another one impacted his left arm breaking it and the left side of his face, breaking facial bones, rupturing his eye, and bruising the left side of his brain. He was flown to the trauma center at ORMC where he underwent emergency brain surgery & then spent the following two weeks on life support in the trauma ICU, with doctors unsure if he would even live. Christian remained in a coma for more than two months in the trauma unit before being transferred to Kindred, a long term acute care hospital in Tampa. There, he finally started showing more significant signs of awareness at the end of August and then slowly began interacting with his surroundings, one baby step at a time. After many ups & downs, Christian was finally stable enough to be transferred back to ORMC where he had surgery on September 21st to repair the large portion of skull which was removed to relieve pressure on his brain at the time of his accident. Though Christian has medical insurance, it has proven insufficient to cover the ever mounting cost of his medical care. In addition, the specialized TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) rehabilitation needed to help him recover as much function & independence as possible is extremely costly, up to $2000 per day if not covered by insurance. His insurance maintained this service an exclusion on his policy up to September 30th. So far, Christian's had an excellent response to just the minimal amount of therapy afforded to patients in a hospital setting, though he was very lucky to have, by chance, been assigned  TBI knowledgable therapists who knew how to work with him. They, along with the doctors & therapists  at ORMC believe Christian has a great chance of making a significant recovery with proper treatment in an acute inpatient rehab facility for TBI patients. Though  he still has a very long way to go, he is already following commands, has started verbalizing,  & can assist some with standing/repositioning. Thankfully Christian is currently awaiting a bed at a rehab facility in Orlando & his insurance is apparently now reconsidering his coverage. What he really needs to continue his journey towards a great recovery, besides prayers, is help raising the funds to cover the cost of his continued medical & rehabilitative care. 

If anyone wants to send cards or anything to Christian at the rehab here is the address & contact information:

Christian Maas, Inpatient Room 426
C/o Orlando Health Rehabilitation Institute
818 Main Ln., Lucerne Annex, 2nd Floor
Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: 321.841.4161
Fax: 321.841.4170

Rehab requires him to actively participate in at least 3 hours of intensive therapy per day. After being in bed for 4 months, losing weight, & the nature of his injuries, this can be difficult. It's a lot of work for him & also requires specific rest periods. Because of this the rehab recommends a strict visitation schedule of 2 visitors at a time, after 4pm. Weekends may start a little earlier. Of course Christian wants to see people, but he also gets easily over whelmed. If anyone plans to visit please contact us so we can coordinate visits with others to maintain his schedule. This is to help maximize his recovery, which is of course everyone's goal! 

You can get ahold of us at the numbers below if you plan to visit, in the evenings is best, texting is the easiest method, then email, then Facebook message, then phone calls. 
Please keep in mind we are all juggling work & other kids, so advanced notice is appreciated. 
Thanks everyone!! 

JoLynn (352)-308-7009
Email: [email protected]
Skyeler (352)-267-1697
Email: [email protected]
Autum (352) 978-6904
Kristi (352) 636-4609