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More than $135,800 had been raised on a GoFundMe for Anthony Mouravski, of Short Hills, as of Tuesday.
Anthony -- a nearly professional, freestyle skier -- was skiing with family on March 13 when he lost control during a straight jump, his mom, Tatiana Mouravskaia said.
Anthony tried to break the fall, but couldn't. He ended up fracturing his spine and is a quadriplegic at the C5 level, his mom said.
"Our lives have been shattered completely," Mouravskaia told Daily Voice.
"The whole family is devastated. Something you never want anybody to go through. I have friends. But I need help. Anthony’s father helps too."
Mouravskaia will need a new house to accommodate her son, she said. He will require around-the-clock care -- at least for the next year, she said.
Luckily, Anthony -- who recently graduated from the Community College of Morris -- is optimistic and handling things well.
"All he wants is to see his dog and he wants to drive," his mother said.
The GoFundMe campaign was launched by Mouravskaia's family friends, who note she is a doctor who works full time and has been taking care of COVID-19 patients.
"Anthony has always lived his life with a relentless sense of optimism," the campaign says.
"Where others saw a hopeless waste of time, he saw the potential to do something great. More than anything else, Anthony, just like his mom wanted to make the people around him a bit happier, a bit better off than before he entered their lives."
While we are all hoping that Anthony will recover and regain the use of his arms and legs, the bills for his care will be staggering.
"Tatiana is still working 70+ hour weeks treating her patients, and battling infectious diseases, and even with Anthony’s whole family pulling together to provide him with care, support, and rehabilitation, the financial resources are not adequate to meet this new, unexpected, and enormous challenge."
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