WYOMING, Mich. – Family, friends and a community came together Sunday to support a young man who’s continuing to recover from a car crash.
The birthday celebration fundraiser event has been held every year since Nick Van Doeselaar’s car crash in 2015 which left him with a fractured skull and a broken neck.
His family says they’re always overwhelmed by all the support.
“He made it and he’s here and he got to see all the support. Nick has been doing good. He’s been doing thumbs up and thumbs down. He just recently learned how to stick his tongue out," says Shannon Meyer, Nick’s mom.
Nick who just turned 22-years-old has come a long way in the last three years, after suffering a brain injury during a crash on I-96 in September 2015 where his car rolled four times. Officials say he had not been drinking and had not been speeding.
Sunday’s benefit and birthday bash at Eagle Eye Truck Lines in Wyoming had a car wash and lots of food and drinks for a hot summer day. One of the organizers says he wants to inspire Nick as much as he inspires everyone around him.
“Just a great inspiration because no matter how tough things get he just keeps on getting tougher. I would say 90 to 95 percent of the people here today never met Nick before but you could just see the inspiration that he gives them with what they’re going through in life cause someone else has always got it harder.” Says benefit organizer Tony Boshoven.
Nick and his family have been on a long road to recovery and are grateful for every bit of progress made.
“He actually died a couple of times back in April. So just having him out here today is a miracle of itself. I had to have Doctor clearance and all sorts of precautions, they had to fill him with extra water, " says Meyer.
Around $2,000 dollars was raised at the benefit, all of it going to Nick and his family to help him in his journey.
If you’d like to help there’s a GoFundMe called Benefit Nick.
