Tom's recovery fund

Tom has been hurt in an accident, and he’s been in the ICU at St. Joseph’s in Eureka since Monday, June 5th.  He’s being made as comfortable as a person can be with his injuries.  Kathleen has been staying in the hospital with him, sleeping there and going home to take care of animals and change her clothes.
He was taking a tarp off of a shuttle bus, stood on the hood, and slipped. He landed directly on his head, breaking bones in his neck and back, and both bones in his right wrist.  His spine fractures are in the C2 and T4 vertebrae, and it’s very lucky he is not paralyzed.  He could have died, so it has been a very frightening experience, and he has been in a lot of pain, as you can imagine. 

The break in his wrist is very bad, and requires surgery.  The fractured vertebrae in his neck and back are going to be immobilized with a surgically implanted “halo”, which he will have to live with for 4-6 months, to allow his cervical spine to heal. 

He is in surgery now, June 8th at 1:30 p.m. They will be putting a plate into his wrist, and he will also be put into the halo during surgery.  

Tom will be staying in the ICU at least until Saturday, then he will have several days in a regular hospital room.  After that, he goes home to recover, and to learn to live in that halo for the duration.

It’s going to be a long road, but the good news is, he is expected to make a full recovery.

I’m Kathleen’s sister in Southern California.  This donation page has been set up by me, because several people have asked how they can help, and help is certainly needed, thank you so much for asking.  Both Tom and Kathleen's pay will be short this month, and it will be many months before Tom can work again.  During that time, he will be receiving less than full wages, and as Kathleen will need to continue taking some more time off and short days at work to look after him, her salary will also be reduced.

There will be expenses, such as they will have to pay for wood delivery, and some yard maintenance, as Kathleen is not able to use the lawn tractor, and they will also have to pay for his medical insurance while he's not working, so it's going to be tough.

Thank you so much for donating.  Every bit will help a lot, and go a long way towards easing some of the worries during this tough time!