Aid Needed for Shoulder Injury Recovery

Hello, Friends! On October 4th, I did something I've never done before. I spent the night in the hospital, with a fractured and badly dislocated right shoulder. As some of you already know, for the past several months, I have been working atop historic Mt. Wilson, designing and building custom structures and set pieces in support of their Summer Art, Lecture, and Concert Series.

Most recently, I designed and built the Merchandise Kiosk adjacent to the Cosmic Cafe. I had put about 130 hours of labor into the project, and expected to be completely finished within a couple of hours. But at about 3:30, I was standing on the third step of an eight foot ladder, attaching a small piece of trim. Without warning, the bottom of the ladder slipped out, and I rode the ladder face first onto the concrete. Everything could have been so much worse. I thought I'd broken my back, and for several minutes, I couldn't move. Eventually I was able to stand, and realized that my right shoulder was seriously dislocated. I was working alone at the time, but fortunately one of the solar telescope astronomers found me and summoned another astronomer to assist me. They called 911 and waited with me until the helicopter arrived to medivac me to the hospital.

X-rays revealed that I had a fracture in the ball and another in the socket, as well a dislocation. Doctors made several attempts to reposition my shoulder, but the fractures complicated matters. Fortunately, at 4PM on October 5th, the doctors were able to reposition it while I was under general anesthetic and I didn't have to have surgery.

I'm now recovering, but because of the fractures, my recovery will take longer. During this time, I can't do the work that I usually do, nor can I do any lifting. In fact, I can't even drive my truck since it has a manual transmission and no power steering.

I am grateful to the doctors and staff at Huntington Hospital Pasadena for putting me back together without surgery, because at my age, recovery time would be so much longer and more difficult.

At present, my hospital bill stands at about $9000. And yet, I feel fortunate. It could have been so much worse.

And so, Friends, I'd appreciate any help you can give. And if you aren't able to give, please share my story. Thank you for your time and help.

#Mt.Wilson

#AngelesNationalForest

#CosmicCafe

#HuntingtonHospitalPasadena