FREAK ACCIDENT WITH A DEER FEEDER

Hi my name is Danielle LeBlanc and I'm fundraising for my parent's. 4 weeks ago my Dad was in a horrible accident at his Ranch. He was hunting and the deer feeder that they had just filled up with 300lbs of corn came crashing down on his neck,head and back when he was trying to hoist up the deer he just shot onto a 4 wheeler. The branch he was using to hoist the deer up (which he had done many times before) broke. He was using all his body weight because the deer was bigger than he had expected ,when the branch broke he was slammed down to the ground by the deer. The deer was pinning him down so he was unable to move out of the way of the feeder when it came crashing down on him knocking him unconscious. When he finally woke up he realized he had head trauma making it risky and impossible for him to avoid further damage than what was already caused. When he came to he tried to contact his grandsons but due the fact of poor reception and one of his grandsons phone dying just 5mins prior he was unable to notify them for help. He knew he had to get up to get back to camp for help. Once he arrived back to camp he began to call out for his grandsons. He was running on adrenaline and it must have been an angel helping him back to the safety of his main camp. He was not alone, thank God he was not alone. Once his grandsons seen him in the condition he was in they knew he needed medical attention.

One of them immediately rushed him to the nearest medical facility 3 hrs away. They didn't have anything to support his neck from the rocky terrain he would have to endure before he got to a smoother road. Thanks to the quick response of his grandson using a pillow to secure his head as best as he could. It was about a 6 mile drive to some smoother paved road. While trying to keep him awake.When he finally arrived they told him he would have to be transferred to a trauma center in San Antonio.... BAMC! It's such a miracle he was able to get up and walk back to camp.

When he arrived the Dr's immediately admitted him into the ICU with SEVERE TRAUMA to his neck and back. Breaking his neck in 5 places the main vertebraes at the top of his neck C1-C5 that allow the movement of his neck and 2 places in his back. He had just had surgery on his back a couple months prior. The Dr's tried to do emergency surgery twice and were unsuccessful both times. His wasn't stable enough for either surgery due to the trauma he sustained to hus chest was more severe than the team of Dr's he had initially thought. Due to his age and the trauma to his heart the team made a decision that he would NEVER be stable enough for the surgery. He would have to heal th old fashioned way. Will only gain back 60 to 70 percent of movement in his neck. Knowing my dad he will succeed greater number than the Dr's told him. If you know my dad you already know that there is NO keeping that man down. He was ready to give up at that point and we just reminded him that he couldn't give up there was still a chance at a normal life. So the surgeries were a fail. We'll just take the bumpy path and strap in for the long haul. But there is never a dead end there is always another way. God has a different plan for him.

Week 2: they moved him to his own rm on the 3rd floor monitoring him closely. He was in so much pain and on so many medications. We didn't realize they were giving him all his meds at once. Delotted,oxy,two muscle relaxers on top of a Tylenol drip for his headaches BP medicine, an antacid for his reflux and a laxative for the fear he would have constipation from the narcotics he was on.

I left my dad for the night and when I came in the morning to check on him again and realized I was walking in a full puddle around his entire bed which was soaked in his own urine due the lack of care my dad received over night. When he saw me he immediately started balling like I've never seen him before. Saying how it was the worst night of his life. He was having hallucinations and flashbacks of the accident. Saying how he has never felt so degraded in his entire life. All my years as his daughter I've never seen my dad cry like that. The hurt in his voice from the disrespect of someone that is supposed to be caring for him as if he was there own family member. This is a man that fought for his country and this is the care he receives. I was hesitant to leave him that night because it took the nurses an hr to bring him his meds after he called twice and waited 30 minutes in between the calls for help the night prior. I had a bad feeling and stayed as long as I could. He reassured me he would be okay. However that was not the case when I walked in the following morning. He was in tears visibly upset and in so much pain. I reported it immediately and talked to the head person in charge that day. There were also opend packages laying on the chair next to him with a full saline syringe laying there as well. They apologized up and down saying that it was unacceptable for the lack of care of the team that was on call that evening. It wasn't there policy to care for someones loved one in that manner.

Later that day I recieved a call that his dog had passed away from a freak accident by a city vehicle that was cutting branches away from the power lines. He was run over in his own yard while using the bathroom. A place he used on a daily basis. He was being watched by their granddaughter and took her eyes off for just a second to pay attention to her son. When she looked up she noticed the city vehicle driving away and called for the dog. When he didn't come right away she took her son inside and began calling for "Gizmo" when he didn't come right away she went to look for him and saw him laying in the grass with a broken neck. The city truck ran him over and drove away without realizing what they had just done. There wasn't anyway I could tell my Dad that his dog was no longer alive. We all decided it had to wait until his heart was strong enough to handle the devastating news about his passing. The following day we got even more bad news about another family member. My mom and I talked with my other sister about waiting until he was strong enough. He began to improve and has met some pretty good nurse's. They pushed him to meet certain daily goals each day giving him the hope that once those goals were met he would then be transferred to a rehab facility where they were going to give him vigorous PT and OT. He pushed himself to meet those goals. At one point leaving him in tears and exhausted him entirely for the rest of the day. All to be told now that those goals were met he no longer met the requirements for the rehab transfer because he was walking fine on his own with a walker and he could get around decently on his own. It would just take time for him to heal. He was going to be approved for the benefits of a transfer to the rehab he was wanting to go to. They even had the director of the facility come and talk with him and my Mom about how good it was for him and they're main goal was to get him back to where he was before the accident. It was all lies for him to meet the goals so they could deny him for the transfer. I feel like they were fed false hope and promises. That was devastating news and we all new that we had to find another way. We all were shocked in the way they tricked him and pushed him to meet those goals all to deny him once they were met. Another let down of something that was starting to look promising all to be ripped away from them. My mom has been be his side day after day since the accident. Making sure her husband wouldn't have to deal with being mistreated.

I was with my Dad and noticed he was having trouble breathing and mentioned it to the nurse about him gasping for air and after a time of him not breathing for and an uncomfortable amount time that I was comfortable with. They obsereved him and ran a couple of test and diaganosed him with sleep apnea and left it at that. Made orders for him to get a c pap machine that evening.

Week 3: this week started out pretty good until I left on Wednesday back home. I've been traveling to and from SA to be there for my parent's as much as I could. My parents are senior citizens relying on SS to pay the bills. While still supporting other family members that need a place to stay until they are able to get on there own feet.

That's one thing about my Parents they will give you the shirt of they're backs expecting nothing in return. As long as they see it as them being helpful they're okay with doing it. Remember when I said they had him on so much pain meds all at once.

This is the week that it finally took a toll on his heart and it sent him into cardiac arrest in the middle of the night. They moved him to the cardiac floor so he could be closer to the cardiologist. Where he would be closely monitored. He started to look better and the following day they moved him from that rm to the west wing on the same floor because he was finally stable and breathing on is own normally. That same night I noticed before I left his heart rate was disturbingly low 44 to be exact and his blood pressure was also not where it should have been. I waited till his heart was stable and left him knowing my Dad would be well taken care of. He had a nurse that was very nice and attentive to him. It was a restlessness night praying he wouldn't have any complications through the night. My mom and I were in the cafeteria getting him his breakfast because after 4 weeks of eating hospital food it begins to take a toll on anyone. He's lost so much weight in such a short period. He's stuck in a room hasn't been out side in almost 5 weeks. Every day its something different going on. First it's his neck and back, his blood pressure fluctuating drastically. His heart still isn't fully stable.

All my parents can think about is the bill they're going to have to pay and how they're going to afford to remodel there house to accommodate his special needs once he comes home from a rehab. How they're going to have to pay out of pocket because the insurance and VA are working against them. We're not giving up and will continue to fight for his recovery and to be released from the hospital and put in an acute rehab facility. My Mom has been staying on base close to the hospital. If it wasn't for the Fisher house she would be stressing how they'd pay for that too. She is stronger than she realizes and gives herself credit for. We never have asked for help for anything and my parents are usually helping everyone else out.

After 4 and half weeks we'd thought he would've been put in acute rehab or home by now. It's taken longer than we expected. My mom normally cleans houses to make some extra money other than her SSI. We've got someone working on the house to get it ready for him once he's home. As of now my parent's will be paying out of pocket for the remodel of there home. PLEASE HELP ANYWAY YOU CAN. EVEN IT'S JUST A PRAYER. Those are always free and you can say as many as you'd like. Anything would be appreciated. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read our story. If you were able to make it through the whole story than it was meant for you to have knowledge of my father and mother's situation they are currently facing. We all are staying positive while keeping our faith. We leave it all at the good lord's feet and trust that he knows what he's doing for him. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME! PRAYERS FOR DANIEL SASSENHAGEN!