Joshua LeMay lives each day with the understanding he’s lucky to be alive. He almost lost his life a year ago after he was involved in a serious single vehicle crash on North Shore Road, Devonshire.The collision left the 20-year-old with traumatic brain injuries and he had to be medevaced to Boston for emergency surgery.After being in a coma for the first ten days of his hospital stay, he had to relearn how to walk and talk.If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, the family also had to deal with the cost of his mounting medical expenses. Mr LeMay didn’t have major medical insurance and was only working part-time at the time of the accident, so while some of his expenses were covered, there is still an outstanding balance.His mother, Gaylhia LeMay, has decided to host a benefit concert, featuring a host of local artists, at the Earl Cameron Theatre in City Hall on Saturday.Attendees will be entertained with music from Troy Anthony, John Lee and ‘The Unit’, Joy T. Barnum, Gavin ‘Djata’ Smith, Mitchell ‘Live Wires’ Trott and Bermuda Idol 2013 Latosha Codrington, among others.Ms LeMay envisioned the event while she was still in Boston, as a way to help offset some of the costs for her son’s medical treatment. She said: “I conceived it back in Boston and started planning for it in February or March.“Joshua is a singer and I knew he had lots of friends who were singers, and I have lots of family members who are entertainers, so I thought that was a great pool to grab from.“We want people to come out and see a good show and have a great time and it will help out Joshua at the same time.”Ms LeMay said she was “very sensitive” to the fact that there are many accident victims in a similar predicament on the Island. She is hoping to create a registered charity in the future that will directly assist such individuals.She said many of the artists “jumped at the opportunity” to take part in the fundraiser. And the support she has been given on a whole by the community in the past year has also been outstanding.Countless prayers and words of encouragement poured in through social media sites; some people flew to the US to be with Mr LeMay and others sent donations to help the family through the difficult time.They returned to Bermuda on November 2, 2012; since then Mr LeMay has had to undergo speech therapy to get him back on track.He doesn’t always have the right words to describe how he feels, whereas he used to consider himself like “a dictionary”. His short term memory isn’t very good, and his plans to study social work in college are on hold, until he is cognitively ready to do so.But his mother described him as more “jovial” and said he has a new appreciation for life.Mr LeMay said he “used to like to go out, and drink, and party a lot”, but has since realised those activities won’t help to advance him in life.Many of those same people he was partying with are still in the same place in life and “not really going anywhere”, he explained.“I have grown, and realise how I used to be, and I see myself now as a real man now,” he said. “It makes you a man when you accept your mistakes, learn from it, and do better.“This accident happened to me to show me the way to go. It was very much a wake up call [and] I want people to realise that life is not promised to anyone.“I never thought I could die, I thought I was invincible, and never thought life would change for me, but it’s better in the whole scope of things.”He said he was grateful to come out of the crash and still be able to live independently and do things for himself.One thing that kept the family going, and inspired Mr LeMay to rebuild his life, was their faith in God. When it was time to leave the hospital, he said he knew “God saved my life for a reason”.The Joshua LeMay Benefit Concert will be held on Saturday, at the Earl Cameron Theatre, City Hall, starting promptly at 7pm, with doors opening at 6.30pm. There will also be a reception for patrons, donors and sponsors (including HOTT 107.5, BPSU, A.F. Smith, photographer Alia Hamza and 98.3FM) held from 6.15-6.45pm.Other acts include Keith Lee, Spring Flower, Karen Ming, Dwayne (Coxy) Cox, Willard Burch and the NCWC Anointed for Praise Dancers, with Mychel Bean.Tickets, $40 for general admission and $75-100 for patrons and donors, can be purchased at People’s Pharmacy, Caesar’s Pharmacy, 27th Century Boutique and Music Box; or online at www.bermudatix.bm.