A local family is seeking support from the community after a serious accident in Natrona Heights left a member of their family in critical condition.
A GoFundMe page launched by Katie Stivers is raising money to support the family after her father, Jim, was injured in a crash on March 4.
Jim Stivers went into cardiac arrest, his daughter wrote on the GoFundMe page. He was resuscitated and transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital by helicopter.
“So far, we know that he’s in critical condition with extensive brain injuries,” Katie Stivers wrote. “His brain won’t stop swelling, so he’s undergoing a decompressive craniectomy to try and let some of the pressure off of his brain.”
Because he was unresponsive and unable to sign off on a release, Jim Stivers’ belongings — including his wallet — could not immediately be released to his family. In an update posted Sunday, Katie Stivers said her mother was eventually able to get his wallet from hospital security.
Still, she said, her family is continuing their online fundraiser.
“Since Dad was the sole provider of the house, every (little) bit is going to be very much needed,” she wrote.
The GoFundMe has raised just over $5,000 of its $8,000 goal as of Monday.
“We are incredibly humbled by the flooding of support from everyone,” Katie Stivers wrote.
