‘Go Fund Me’ Effort Raises Thousands for Local Teen After Skiing Accident

DULUTH, Minn.– Duluth East Junior Mason Branstrator’s life changed forever on Monday after a skiing accident left him seriously injured. Now as he and his family brace for the road ahead, they’re getting some help along the way.

“I went off of a jump and was in the air backwards and next thing I know, I’m in the hospital,” said Mason.

The skiing accident left Mason with a spinal cord injury and a broken back — unsure if he’ll ever walk again.

“I just didn’t believe what was happening was real,” said Mason.

Now Mason prepares to leave for Colorado to start rehab with a long road to recovery that is sure to push him to the limit. But he says he’ll be going there with his head held high and hopeful for what comes next.

“We’re going to try as best as we can,” said Mason. “I’ve always tried as hard as I can at everything that I do so this will be probably be the thing I try the hardest at in life.”

Besides working on his art projects, Mason loves doing anything with people. Spending time with loved ones biking or just playing board games with his friends.

One of Mason’s other passions is soccer, playing for the Duluth East soccer team last season. But his mother Stacy Crawford says this is far from any simple sports injury he could’ve faced then.

“It’s not a torn meniscus. It’s not a small injury,” said Crawford. “This is a life changing event.”

Crawford started a go fund me page this week, as she expects transport to the hospital and rehab to cost upwards of a $100,000.

In just two days friends and family were able to raise more than $20,000 — but it hasn’t stopped there.

Then in less than a day, the page has nearly doubled, with more than $38,000 raised so far. It left his parents speechless at the overflow of support for their son. The lone words they could say were…

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Crawford.

“I just become tearful and just so overwhelmingly grateful for all of this support that we have for Mason’s care,” said Mason’s Father Donn Branstrator.

Going forward, Mason says he has no idea what his body will allow him to do. But no matter what, he says he will come back to Duluth knowing he gave as much as he could.

“There’s a lot of different places that it could be in this time and I’ve figured out through life that there’s no reason that you shouldn’t just have it in the in the best place possible all the time,” said Mason. “I’m trying my best to stay there and to continue to be there in that happy place.”

Mason’s go fund me page is still open. You can find the link for their page here.