ROANOKE CO, VA – “Hearing him scream in the background that he loved me... That’s very jarring,” Kara Musil said.
On Friday, Kara Musil got a call that forever changed her and her family’s lives.
“Is he okay? What happened? How bad of an accident is it?” Kara said.
Her husband Craig is a mail carrier. He was running his routes like normal when Hurricane Helene hit.
“He wasn’t stopped, he wasn’t parked at a mailbox, he wasn’t doing anything, he was driving and made a turn, and a tree fell on the mail truck,” Kara said.
Someone called her from the hospital - where she could hear Craig in the background. It was a sound that was both terrifying and relieving.
“He was in fear at that point. Not knowing what his long-term prognosis was going to be, but hearing his voice was very reassuring and helped ground me to take the next step,” she said.
He was in the trauma bay when Kara first got to the hospital, but eventually, she was able to see him.
“He told me he broke his neck and I said, ‘How do you know? Have you had an X-ray or MRI?” Kara said.
But they quickly found out just how severe his injuries were.
“The surgeons came in and asked him if he could feel different parts of his body and he was responding no,” she said.
One surgery later, Craig has a bit of motion in his upper body, but nothing below his waist.
It’s a long road ahead for Craig and Kara, their little girl and their new baby on the way.
“She knows daddy is in the hospital and he will be in the hospital for a very long time, that he’ll probably come home in a wheelchair,” Kara said.
Craig worked multiple jobs - and even with the postal service covering the hospital bills and some pay, there are a lot of expenses - Especially since Kara has to stay home.
“I’m trying to make sure that our needs are met at home, making sure that the bills stay up to date,” Kara said.
Thousands of dollars have already been raised. If you would like to donate, the GoFundMe is here.
Original Story:
One Roanoke County mail carrier’s life is forever changed following Hurricane Helene.
Craig “Tony” Musil was on his route Friday when a tree fell on his mail truck.
The tree pinned him inside the truck and resulted in a broken neck and severe spinal cord injury.
He underwent emergency surgery in hopes of regaining function in his arms and legs.
Since the surgery, Musil has regained limited strength in his arms and upper torso, but he continues to lack feeling in his lower body.
While his employer will cover his hospitalization costs and provide some pay, it will not match his usual income.
For years, he has balanced multiple jobs, often working 12 to 15 hours a day to support his family, particularly during his son’s terminal illness, which ended with his passing in May 2023.
Adding to the family’s difficulties, Musil’s wife, who is currently 20 weeks pregnant, will not be able to return to work as she takes on the role of full-time caregiver for Tony and their 5-year-old daughter.
There’s a GoFundMe to support the family during this difficult time. If you would like to donate, you can find that link here.
This is a developing story. Check back on air and online for updates.
