A Statement from Dr Robert B. Kargbo – March 2026

In November 2024, I was struck by a truck while walking in a crosswalk in Atlanta, Georgia. My colleague Spring Washam and I were there on a volunteer visit, working to bring psychedelic-assisted therapy to traumatized communities in the rural South. In a split second, everything changed. The injuries were severe: catastrophic damage to my right hand – the hand behind over 300 scientific publications – multiple surgeries, nerve damage, mobility loss, chronic pain, and a life-threatening blood clot. I lost my ability to work, my income, my health insurance, and for a time, my sense of what the future might hold. Then came the syncope episodes – sudden collapses that raised the specter of serious cardiac complications. We were preparing for the worst. Spring, moved by urgency and love, initiated a GoFundMe campaign on my behalf. Communities responded – my church family, colleagues, friends, African community, and scientific organizations who extended their hands across oceans and generations. I was carried when I could not stand. (Photo: Dr Robert Kargbo, humanitarian).

THE NEWS WE PRAYED FOR

After months of testing and uncertainty, my cardiologist confirmed what I had been afraid to hope for: there is no major structural or urgent heart issue. The syncope episodes appear to have been medication-related, not the cardiac crisis we feared. The catastrophic scenario we were preparing for is not my path. I exhaled for the first time in months. The disability from a functional perspective remains. My hand, elbow, and shoulder continue to limit what I can do, and elective procedures are still ahead. But thankfully, the nerves are beginning to respond in a positive direction. My treatment in Atlanta was successful, though painful. I am mending – slowly, but with hope where there was once only uncertainty.

A DECISION BORN OF GRATITUDE

As this season of healing unfolds, I have been deeply conscious of a truth that will not let me rest: there are others in desperate need. Families who cannot afford medicine. Children who go to bed hungry. Elders who face illness alone. Communities fractured by poverty, displacement, and grief. Their struggles did not pause while mine took center stage. And so I have made a decision. All funds contributed to my care by African community organizations will be redirected and given to those in need across various settings. This is not a gesture of surplus. It is an act of faith. It is recognition that the grace extended to me was never meant to stop with me. I was carried so that I might help carry others. (Photo: Madam Spring Washam, a kind colleague).

A SEASON OF SACRED REFLECTION

This decision comes at a profound moment in the spiritual calendar. For my Muslim brothers and sisters observing Ramadan, this is a time of fasting, purification, and generosity – when the Quran teaches that charity given in this holy month is multiplied in blessing. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: “The believer’s shade on the Day of Resurrection will be their charity.” For my Christian brothers and sisters walking through Lent, this is a season of sacrifice, reflection, and preparation – when we are called to give not from our abundance, but from our need. Jesus taught that when we care for the hungry, the sick, and the stranger, we care for Him. These traditions converge on a single truth: we are not healed for ourselves alone. We are healed so that we might become healers. We receive so that we might give. We are carried so that we might carry others.

GRATITUDE BEYOND MEASURE

To Spring Washam, who started the GoFundMe and who, on that day in Atlanta, witnessed me step in front of her as the truck approached – your friendship, your advocacy, and your tireless work for healing communities have been a light in this darkness. To the African community organizations that gave from hearts that no struggle intimately, your generosity was not charity. It was kinship. It was the recognition that we rise together or not at all. To every donor, prayer warrior, and quiet supporter – you were the human chain that held me upright when standing alone was impossible. You reminded me that even in illness, even in uncertainty, humanity – our shared capacity to sense, respond, and care – remains our greatest intelligence.

THE WAY FORWARD (Photo: Dr Robert Kargbo flanked by his lovely mother and brother-in-law, Mr Santigui Koroma).

I am still healing. There are surgeries to consider, therapies to pursue, and days when the pain reminds me how far there is still to go. But I am no longer walking in fear. I am walking in faith. And as I walk, I am determined to ensure that the grace extended to me flows outward – to those whose cries are quieter, whose needs are unseen, whose names will never appear in a GoFundMe campaign. This is what healing looks like when it becomes whole: not hoarding the blessing, but passing it on. May whatever kindness you extended return to you, multiplied. With profound gratitude, renewed faith, and a heart committed to service,

Dr. Robert B. Kargbo

Middleton, Wisconsin

USA

March 2026

Author: Dr. Robert B. Kargbo is a pharmaceutical scientist with over 20 years of experience in drug development, a contributor to over 300 scientific publications, and an Editorial Board Member for ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. He served as CMC & Nonclinical Project Lead at Usona Institute, where he contributed to groundbreaking research in psilocybin therapeutics. He continues to write, review manuscripts, and advocate for compassionate science despite his ongoing recovery.