A 22-year-old Air Force veteran who suffered from a collapsed lung will be able to experience the company and love of his mother as he continues to recover, thanks to hundreds of generous donors who stepped up to help fund the travel for his mother from Ohio to Texas, to be by his side.
Jake Mitchell had been fighting for his life in an intensive care unit (ICU) in San Antonio, after suffering from a collapsed lung on May 27.
The 22-year-old veteran has no health insurance, and reportedly drove himself three hours from his home in Del Rio, Texas, to the Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital, which was the nearest VA care facility to him at the time.
He spent nearly a week listed in critical condition, and to top it all off, had to do so almost completely alone. Forced to do what no veteran should ever have to, he worked hard at making it through the experience without friends or family by his side.
With no one close by to assist, and his mother a few states away, family friend Victoria Stansberry stepped in to help and created a YouCaring fundraiser in order to help bring Mitchell and his mother together.
(YouCaring)
As of Thursday evening, the site had raised more than $15,300 of the original $12,500 goal.
More than 300 supporters donated to the crowd funding site, mainly due to local media attention and the outpouring of love from his fellow veterans.
Mitchell was able to use much of the donated funds to fly his mother, Andrea Stine, to Texas and get an extended hotel near the hospital as he continued to undergo testing.
His condition continues to improve rapidly.
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