A Fruitvale family is “overwhelmed and appreciative” as community donations pour in for their son, recently injured in a dirt-biking accident.
READ MORE: Greenwood boy taken to hospital by BC Ambulance helicopter
Eleven-year-old Marcus Weiberg was riding his cousin’s dirt-bike near Creston’s Arrow Creek when he lost control of the vehicle Tuesday afternoon, March 22. The boy’s helmet came off, leaving him with two skull fractures near his right eye and scrapes along the right side of his body.
Marcus was eventually taken to hospital in Cranbrook, from where the boy and his parents — mom, Roxanne and dad, Chris — were medi-evac’d to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver early Wednesday morning.
READ MORE: BC Children’s Hospital was a life-saver for Vancouver Island family
“He’s a full bundle of road rash,” Roxanne said. His right eye is swollen shut, and he needs help getting to the washroom, but Roxanne said Marcus is faring well enough.
Roxanne (neé Lidstone) said she and Chris “have moment when we cry,” but that Marcus — more worried about his cousin’s bike than himself — “makes me laugh.”
Roxanne’s sister Kia Kley has meanwhile set up a “Help the Weibergs” fundraising campaign on Facebook. Nearly $3,500 has come in since Wednesday, according to the Facebook site.
“We’re really overwhelmed with everybody’s warmth and support,” Roxanne said. She and Chris have been sleeping in a pull down bed in Marcus’s hospital room. They haven’t left Children’s except to stretch their legs and grab the occasional coffee.
Marcus will undergo a “burn bath” Thursday afternoon, which Roxanne said will determine the extent of his bodily injuries. He’s meanwhile undergone X-rays and CT scans, but his doctors have ruled out facial surgery to this point, she added.
“All his nurses and doctors, all the hospitals we’ve been through, have been great,” Roxanne said.
Forty-eight people have donated through Facebook as of Thursday afternoon.
The Weibergs said they planned to put incoming donations towards food and travel expenses and to buy Marcus, an experienced dirt-biker, a new set of road gear.
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