Family and friends of young Ohio grasser Lincoln Mash have been serving as prayer warriors this weekend, after the 19 year old guitarist and singer for the Coal Cave Hollow Boys was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident near his home on Saturday.
Mash had just gotten his motorcycle that morning, and had headed out for a quick first ride around 11:00 a.m., as the family was planning to head off to the SamJam festival in the early afternoon. Not five minutes later, Lincoln’s dad received a phone call from an unfamiliar number. It was his son, telling him that he had hit a gravel patch at a curve in the road, lost control of the bike, and wrecked.
Medical personnel airlifted him to Grand Medical Center in Columbus, and once his family and girlfriend, Heather Alley, reached the hospital, Lincoln seemed to be in good spirits, joking with them about the accident, and calling a fellow band member to say that his hands were fine, and not to cancel any gigs.
But things took a dark turn the next morning, when nurses discovered Mash to be incoherent, unable to speak or communicate with them. He had been wearing a helmet, but fears of some sort of brain damage began to enter the picture.
Following an MRI the next morning, doctors diagnosed Lincoln as having suffered a Diffuse Axonal Injury (DIA), meaning that nerve fibers in his brain had been suddenly stretched in the crash, leaving behind lesions scattered in the white matter of his brain. But he showed rapid signs of progress later Sunday afternoon, and underwent surgery on Monday to repair damage to the leg broken in the accident.
Doctors are now questioning the DIA diagnosis, and are optimistic for a full recovery.
Additionally, Heather shared a very positive update just now.
“We got great news this morning. His mom let us all know that the nurses woke him up this morning, and he has finally started talking. It’s an absolute miracle! There’s still been no definite diagnosis, and there have been a few things thrown around concerning what could have happened, but Lincoln is fighting so hard, and he is the most stubborn, strongest guy I’ve ever met.”
Heather and Lincoln’s family continue to urge everyone to pray that he continues to heal, and will be back on stage – though hopefully not on his bike – sometime soon.
Here’s a video of Lincoln with the band, shot just a month ago. With Mash on guitar, Thomas Adams is on on mandolin, Isaiah Sparling on bass, and Todd Sams on banjo. Heather is sitting in on fiddle.
Further updates on his condition will be posted on the Coal Cave Hollow Boys’ Facebook page, where there will soon be information about how fans and friends can help with medical expenses by purchasing T-shirts being designed and printed by Adams and Todd Sams’ daughter, Kenzie Owings.
Get well soon, Lincoln!
UPDATE 9/10 – A GoFundMe campaign has been launched in support of helping the Mash family with medical expenses. Donations can be accepted online using any major credit card or PayPal.
