Insurance Company Agrees to Provide Prosthetic Limb to Oakton High Grad After News Report

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- The Oakton High School graduate who lost his leg in a freak accident in New York's Central Park will get a prosthetic limb after the family's insurance company was featured in an investigative report by NBC-4, the news station reports.

Connor Golden, now 19, a member of Oakton High's Class of 2015 and now a college student in Florida, lost the lower portion of his left leg July 3 after stepping on some kind of explosive while climbing rocks with friends in New York City's Central Park. His left leg had to be amputated below the knee. His family later reported struggles with their insurance company over covering the cost of a prosthetic limb and more, NBC-4 reported.

A spokeswoman for United Healthcare told NBC-4: “While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, this provider is not in our network, so we needed to review additional information in order to process these claims appropriately,” Maria Gordon-Shydlo wrote. “We have since received this information and are paying for this prosthesis. We also approved coverage of a new socket and new prosthesis.”

Golden just completed his freshman year at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music as an honors student studying Music Engineering.

He posted this message on a GoFundMe page set up by friends, after he began walking and returning to school this fall:

I cannot find words that adequately express my gratitude for how much hope and support you all have given me. It is a beautiful thing to see how many people are by my side when a tragedy like this strikes. Friends, family, and compassionate people I have never met – including fellow amputees, New Yorkers, fellow students and alumni, and those having a shared interest in music or scouting – have decided to help. I want everyone to know how much your support means to me.

This past week, I returned to school and took my first steps on a prosthetic leg, which all of you have helped me pay for (in addition to other medical bills and recovery expenses). I am posting with this note a photo of me at the prosthetist’s office on the day I received the prosthetic leg. You’ll see that I’m smiling in the photo. That’s not just because I’m happy to begin walking again. It’s also because I am so grateful for the huge amount of love and caring that has taken me from the shock of July 3 in Central Park, through the very difficult operations at Bellevue hospital, through police questioning and media pressure, through the healing process while at my parents’ house in Northern Virginia, through my trip back to school while on a wheelchair and crutches, to standing on my new leg.

Forever grateful,

Connor

Read the full NBC-4 report here.

The GoFundMe page is set up to help with expenses and more than 1,000 people have donated more than $80,000 toward a $100,000 goal. The campaign has been organized by parents of the Oakton Chorus family.

New York Crimestoppers is offering a reward for information about the explosion.

PHOTOS of Connor Golden from GoFundMe page