SJU student improving after accident

It’s been one week since SJU senior Matt Goergen sustained life-threatening injuries in a car accident in the early morning hours of March 22—one week of fear, prayers and, recently, some good news.

In the midst of that long and grueling week, Goergen has made remarkable progress, though the path ahead remains long. He was discharged from the intensive care unit on Tuesday night and moved to another area of the St. Cloud Hospital, where he was taken after the crash. He is free of breathing and feeding tubes and is responding to questions with both hand gestures and words.

“Every day has gotten better,” Matt’s father Mike Goergen said. “I believe that the prayers of all these friends and people and all the support are really what’s doing this. When you get there, the doctor tells you it could be days, weeks, months or even a year before he recovers to some point like this, so six days for Matt is incredible.”

According to the police report, Matt lost control of his car on the icy roads at the intersection of I-75 and I-94 at 12:16 a.m. last Wednesday, and the semi truck behind him, driven by Thomas Deutschman of Detroit Lakes, collided with his vehicle. Deutschman was unhurt and returned to Matt’s car where he called 911, according to Mike Goergen. Matt was rushed to the St. Cloud Hospital in life-threatening condition after the accident. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts, and no alcohol was involved in the accident.

Mike, who has been updating the community on Matt’s status twice a day via a CaringBridge page, said Matt’s doctors expect his bodily injuries to fully heal. Matt severely lacerated his spleen, broke his scapula and suffered a partially collapsed left lung in the accident. The main concern at this point is the potential damage to Matt’s brain, which experienced serious bruising, bleeding and swelling following the accident. So far, his mental status seems to be recovering well, as he can respond to questions with thumbs up and other hand gestures. He has also been able to speak a little, although his throat is sore from the breathing and feeding tubes. Both the initial thumbs up and when Matt was able to open his eyes and see his family on Tuesday morning were emotional moments for Mike.

“It brings tears to your eyes,” Mike said. “It’s just super emotional, but in a good way. I’m not crying because I’m sad; I’m crying because it’s wonderful news.”

Neurologists at the hospital will further evaluate Matt’s mental status through the coming days and weeks, which will result in a better sense of the length of his recovery. At this point, the Goergen’s are hopeful that Matt will be able to complete his studies in the fall, but his condition is still uncertain. Mike and Matt’s mother Leslie Goergen found out about the crash when police knocked on the door of their home in Eden Prarie at 3 a.m., hours after the accident occurred.

“It’s the one call you as a parent never want to get,” Mike said. “It wasn’t like we got much sleep. I remember the first thing I told my wife was not just all we can do is pray, but the best thing we can do is pray, because we have zero control over the situation.”

Matt’s parents then drove to the St. Cloud Hospital once the roads were clear later Wednesday morning. They have been by his side in the days since, spending the nights in the Abbey Guesthouse at SJU. Many of Matt’s friends have visited him over the past week. One of his close friends, SJU sophomore Alec Chamberlain, visited the day after the accident and then again this Wednesday.

“Matt was the first person I ever met at this school. He is super friendly and super outgoing,” Chamberlain said. “[Visiting him on Wednesday] was a big reliever. It’s just about time and healing right now.”

Matt’s roommates Hayden LeMonds, Julian Mares and Ben Gilbertson also had the chance to visit Matt on Wednesday.

“He looked a lot better than I thought he was going to, so that was really good and positive and encouraging, but also it was pretty hard to see him,” LeMonds said. “We talked about maybe having an end of the year—we call it a family dinner—but having one more of those before the school year ends with just us four roommates would be really fun and something I’d definitely be looking forward to.”

Both Chamberlain and LeMonds emphasized Matt’s positive and outgoing personality and impact on their college experience. Outside of Matt’s close friends and family, the greater community has provided additional support. A GoFundMe page for Matt’s medical bills had received over $9,000 in donations as of March 29. Associate Provost for Student Success Mary Geller sent a schoolwide email asking for prayers the afternoon of the accident, and SJU Dean of Students Mike Connolly visited Matt several times and provided an update on Matt’s condition at Praise in the Pub the day of the crash, at the request of Matt’s parents.The monastic community has been offering prayers daily for Matt’s recovery, and students prayed for him at the Sunday night student mass at SJU.

“It’s tremendously unexpected to know how many people are impacted by your son,” Mike said. “He’s such a generous and caring guy, and a lot of people care about him.