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Community rallies behind dad hurt while crowd surfing during Welcome to Rockville

Chris Martin, 41, was having the time of his life at Welcome to Rockville over the weekend before, he said, he almost lost his life.

"I'm so blessed that I'm here and I'm able to see my family another day," Martin said.

From his hospital bed, in a lot of pain, Martin said he was crowd surfing Saturday night, trying to make his way to the front of the crowd, when, he said he was dropped.

"Next thing I know, I got dropped, and landed on the mosh pit on my head," said Martin who believes it was no accident. "I was actually thrown in there."

Martin's daughters said they have received several messages from people who were there that night and said it was intentional.

"It's very upsetting," said Kristi Martin.

"Three people tossed him and he fell on his head," said Courtney Martin.

While Martin's family looks for answers, they say they are thankful he is OK and especially grateful for a stranger who happened to be a paramedic who took care of their father.

"He immediately dropped down and grabbed my neck and held it straight. He wouldn't let anyone move me and he stayed right there with me until I got into the ambulance, so he's my hero," said Martin. "He was my savior, I'll say that. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have the chance.

Now the community is rallying around Martin, working to find out who exactly was involved in the incident and to raise money for Chris's medical expense.

Martin suffered a broken neck and bruised spine leaving him feeling numb in part of his chest according to his daughter Courtney, but he is making some improvements.

“I’ve got some movement back in my left leg, none in my right. And all 10 of my fingers has lost mobility,” said Martin.

To contribute to Martin's medical expenses click HERE.

Despite this bad circumstance, Martin is in good spirits and looking forward to next year at Welcome to Rockville.

“We are going to go back. We are going to have fun again," said Martin.