The story of Graham Wilkinson surrounds an injury that is, unfortunately, all too common. Graham had an accident where he smashed his fifth metacarpal in his right hand, resulting in a 45-degree fracture. As a professional musician, this was absolutely devastating. Simply put, it meant he was out of work. And with little to no health insurance coverage, going to see a doctor was practically out of the question.
For weeks on end, Graham put off doing anything about his hand, hoping his hand would heal on its own. Spoiler alert — it didn’t. The swelling didn’t go away. The pain didn’t go away. On top of that, he wasn’t able to continue his livelihood.
When it got to the point that continued inaction was out of the questions, his wife, Dawn Erin, was able to convince Graham to go to the doctor. After his initial visit with his doctor, it was obvious that Graham needed surgery to fix the broken bone. But without the right health insurance — this meant daunting medical costs.
Through the help of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM), Graham was put in touch with our organization. We looked at Graham’s case and decided he was a perfect fit for our program; an underinsured professional musician that desperately needed surgery to continue his career!
As a nonprofit dedicated to the healthcare needs of professional musicians, we provide surgical and related care at no cost so that they can keep the music playing. This is only possible thanks to our donors! We will continue to share the stories of the musicians that your dollars are directly supporting.
If you are a musician in need, please contact us at info@mtfusa.org. If you would like to donate to our organization, please visit mtfusa.org/donate/.
Read why we believe Graham should #keepthemusicplaying —
“Graham is like no other musician on the scene with charisma in spades and the songs to match. Graham will make you think, drink, dance, maybe even kiss a stranger.”
-Hayes Carll
“Imagine if Bruce Springsteen fronted an ‘up-and-coming’ indie band. Then imagine if they lived in So-Cal for a few years, picking up a pair of ears for the surrounding sounds. And then they moved to Texas.”
-WONY Red Dragon Radio
“Graham Wilkinson makes beautiful music for mountain drives and nature hikes, but also for boisterous bars across North America. The music is original. Some might claim it is a kaleidoscope of roots music, folk, rock, Americana, jazz, and reggae, but really Graham Wilkinson melts away genres and makes new and exciting music.”
JamTex
“Let It Go” by Graham Wilkinson: