Firefighter Faces Life-Changing Recovery
TRACY CITY, Tenn. (WDEF) – A Manchester firefighter and Tracy City resident, Jay Lankford is continuing a long and difficult recovery after a September motorcycle crash left him with life-changing injuries.
Family members say he underwent multiple extensive surgeries after the wreck.
In the moments after the crash, loved ones say their first concern was protecting his children from the news.
“What went through my mind first was his boys. I had called some school. I had called some people and I was like look he’s wrecked. I don’t need the boys to find out. It wasn’t long that we just lost his nephew within the year and just to get to him that that was my thing and just praying that Lord, keep him safe,” said Paige Brown, his cousin-in-law.
Prior to the accident, Jay had been helping care for his mother, but she sadly lost her battle with cancer while he was fighting for his life in the hospital.
For his youngest son, the fear of everything happening set in very quickly. “I asked my great aunt, she’s the one that picked me up from school. Is dad alright and she said no I just got very very scared right then,” his son recalled.
The crash left Jay with devastating injuries, including a completely shattered pelvis and left arm, and required immediate, life-saving treatment. “Jay went through a lot undergo a lot of surgeries when he wrecked it completely shattered his pelvis we had to have him in a binder. It shattered his left arm because when he wrecked, he had his arm up to block the sun from coming into his eyes and this sun is what ultimate make him wreck is he did not see the van stop,” his family explained.
His oldest son says the absence at home has been one of the hardest adjustments. “I couldn’t ask for a better dad, I just really hate what’s happened to him. It’s like I lost like support in my own life too with them not being home,” James Lankford said.
He’s holding on to the hope they’ll share their favorite activity again. “I hope that he can get back and back on the road because that was one of the things that we always did together that was like the only thing we did together,” James added.
Those who know him through the fire service say he has had a lasting impact on the community and has always put others first. “He would give you the shirt off of his back understand he was very good in the fire department rescuing people that sort of thing he’s been such a blessing to this community,” said Franklin Hill, Jay’s pastor.
Friends and family describe Jay as someone who has always put others first. “Big teddy bear… He is a big teddy bear. Jay is also the type of gentleman that would do anything and everything for anybody,” William Lankford and Paige Brown said.
Now, the community is returning that support. Friends, neighbors, and Jay’s Manchester Fire colleagues are helping prepare his home with ramps and other accessibility features, and those who wish to support him financially can donate through his GoFundMe.
Jay’s GoFundMe link: https://gofund.me/b28b95da5
