Rising Engineering and Wharton sophomore Mason Mings sustained a traumatic brain injury after falling 25-30 feet from the second story of Ware College House on May 11.
He is currently with his family at his hometown of Houston, where he is receiving inpatient rehabilitation at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research Memorial Hermann.
Mings’s mother, Kara Mings, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that although it is unclear when her son would be returning to school, he is currently being assessed by the doctors and is “on his way to recovery.”
A GoFundMe page was created this past Thursday — exactly a week after Mings’s accident — with the intention of raising $40,000 to cover the costs of “his staying in ICU as well as the Air Ambulance, which is not covered by insurance,” according to the page. In the three days following the start of the campaign, the page raised over $46,000 from 170 donors and continues to grow by the hour.
The page also details Mings’s injuries. According to the description of the GoFundMe page, the Management and Technology student sustained a traumatic brain injury with numerous cranial fractures and various fractures to his skull base. The accident also caused a right frontal epidural hematoma.
“We are determined for Mason to return to the University of Pennsylvania when fully recovered,” Kara Mings said. “I feel grateful that there is such a big group that’s praying for us and supporting us.”
She added that Penn has been of great support to the family since the accident.
“The University handled all the logistics prior to arrival and ushered us through the process during our stay at the hospital,” she said. “The University is behind Mason and supporting him.”
Quad Residential Services declined to comment on this case.
“Mason is a compassionate and caring friend who I can always count on for support,” said College sophomore Ryan DelGaudio, who is a member of Penn’s all-male comedy troupe Mask and Wig along with Mings. “I’m so thankful for his speedy recovery and look forward to hanging out and living with him during the rest of our time at Penn.”
Sophomore Oludare Marcelle, a former member of Mask and Wig, told the DP that Mings “is a crazy smart kid who has so many genuine interests.”
"[Mings’s] recovery has been fantastic thus far,” Marcelle said, to his knowledge, “so we know he still has that ‘never say die’ spirit even though he’s not fully aware of everything he’s saying yet.”
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