Matt DeGregoris' son Jacob
Walker, Doug
Dear Fellow Scouters, Scouting Families and Program Supporters,
Many of you know Matt DeGregoris from either his time as the Cubmaster of Pack 148 in Independence Twp or his District level service to the former Pahaquarra District, particularly around Webelos Woods. For those of you who have not met Matt personally, he is an outstanding Scout leader, has stepped up a number of times to make sure that District program has run smoothly or even run at all, and he is the type of guy you value having in your list of people you can go to with questions or service requests. I’ve worked alongside Matt at several events and he is a dedicated father and Scouter.
Matt and his son, Jacob, were headed out west on their way to Philmont Scout Ranch with their Troop. During one of the adventures leading up to their Philmont trek last week, the Troop was mountain biking on Pikes Peak in Colorado when the unimaginable happened. Jacob lost control of his bike, slid into oncoming traffic and crashed head first into the tow hook of a pickup truck, shattering his helmet and fracturing his skull, among other serious injuries. Matt and his wife Amy are in Colorado as Jacob is undergoing multiple surgeries and beginning what will be a very long road to recovery.
Friends of the DeGregoris family have set-up a GoFundMe page to help the family with the many unexpected travel and medical expenses that they are now incurring. Below is a link to that site, if you can help out in any way, your donation will allow Matt and Amy to keep their focus on Jacob and his daily medical needs.
https://www.gofundme.com/2d7tj8k
Jacob’s Troop will also be setting up a second fund that will address some specific needs by the DeGregoris family and I will circulate information about that once it is published.
Below is a more comprehensive update from Matt about the incident and what they are going through right now;
“Hello Friends and Family. Many of you know that Jacob was in a very serious accident last week and we wanted to take a moment to clarify what happened as well as provide an update on his condition and progress.
Jacob was on a cross country trip with his Boy Scout troop and was cycling down Pikes Peak in Colorado. He lost control of the bike, went down and slid into oncoming traffic and went head first into the tow hook of a Chevy 2500 pickup. The tow hook broke the helmet and the top of Jake's skull was shattered. At least one of the bone fragments was embedded in his brain and estimated to be an inch deep. The surgery went as well as we could expect. The fragments have been removed but left him with no use of the right side of his body (left side brain injury) and he's not able to speak. He also sustained two fractured vertebrae and a compressed in his neck.
It's been a very long and difficult week but there are improvements every day. He is alert, recognizes us, and understands what we're saying when we speak to him. He now has some movement of his right leg. He will be going in for a double surgery on Friday for his neck. We've been told that rehabilitation could be as long as 3-6 months. Amy will probably spend the entire summer in Colorado with him. We have a long hard road ahead of us but Jake has a lot of fight in him and we'll be traveling this road together.
Thank you all for the overwhelming response we've been receiving from everybody. The love and support that has been pouring in has been immeasurable. We appreciate each and every message we receive. It helps us feel like we're not as far away from our friends and community as we actually are. We cannot thank you enough.”
If you are not able to contribute monetarily, please keep Jacob, Matt, Amy and the entire DeGregoris family in your prayers and Jacob undergoes surgery again today. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, Todd Jakub (copied on this email) or direct them to Jessica Hain Sohl through the contact page on the GoFundMe site.
The target fundraising number of the GoFundMe site is not the total expenses expected to be incurred by the DeGregoris family so when that number is reached, please don’t stop giving. The expenses will far exceed that number as Jacob moves from his hospital stay and into rehab.
Thank you all in advance for your support of Jacob, Matt, Amy and their family whether that be through financial contributions, prayers or both.
Doug Walker
Cub Scout Activities Chairperson, Hunterdon Arrowhead District
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” "Energy correctly directed can accomplish anything."
~Winston Churchill ~Nellie Bly
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