My Story

Hello, my name is Ankit Gohil. I am the founder and current president of The A.J. Gohil Family Foundation (TAJGFF). My story of how I started the nonprofit foundation is quite an enigma. My drive to help came from less-than-ideal circumstances. However, specific experiences in life mold your character and being, and this is my story.

On August 15, 2016, I was in a traumatic motorcycle accident. I was riding home from a friend's house late afternoon when a pickup truck made a left turn into me. I was violently thrown off my motorcycle. After being tossed, my first instinct was to try to get up. Unfortunately, I realized I had trouble moving my body at all. I looked down through my motorcycle helmet and saw my body completely ripped apart. My left femur, tibia, and fibula were shattered and protruded through the skin. My left arm was hanging on by a thread of skin. My left foot was wholly mangled and essentially torn off. Apart from that, there was an immense amount of blood everywhere. I for sure thought that I was going to die. I asked the EMT repeatedly, "Am I going to die?" They finally put me on a stretcher and flew me to the hospital. I screamed the whole way over, agonizing in pain. When I arrived at the trauma center, I was greeted by a trauma doctor who was in utter disbelief. I was still conscious.

All my friends and family had arrived at the hospital, waiting to hear the news. They knew if I were going to survive, it would be a very long road to recovery. The staff at the hospital put me in a medically induced coma, and my first surgery was about 12 hours. I would be in a coma for two more weeks, and during my ten-month stay at the hospital, I endured 25 more surgeries and significant setbacks.

Through it all, I ALWAYS had God and my friends and family. I had a great support system throughout my recovery process, which is the only reason I recovered from such a horrific accident.

I wanted to reciprocate the support I received and pay it all forward. I repeatedly thought, "I was 21 when I endured trauma; I could not even imagine being a young child fighting a chronic illness or battling a trauma or disability." My purpose was reassured as I thought it through. That is why I started The A.J. Gohil Family Foundation, to support where it may be missing. To be a beacon of hope. I pray if you're reading this, you join me on my journey to benefit and support families whose adolescents have a chronic illness or disability, as well as those who have experienced trauma.