Help for The Dempsey Family

On April 14, 2023, my son-in-law, Rodney Dempsey, was in a horrific automobile crash. We lost his beloved diabetic service dog and best friend, Winnie, but were very blessed that we did not lose him. After several days in the ICU and hospital, he is now home with still a long road to recovery and some very big medical bills with which to deal. It has been a very emotionally and physically (for Rodney) straining time for the Dempsey family, and they could use all the prayers, good thoughts and help that they can get right now. I am hoping that once you read my daughter's story of what has transpired and see the video of the crash, you will find it in your heart to give what you can spare, whether it be prayers, good thoughts and feelings or a financial donation to their cause. Thank you so much for considering their situation, and bless you all. -- Tammy Yargates

On April 14, shortly after midnight, my husband Rodney and his service dog, our beloved Winnie, were involved in a tragic rollover vehicle accident. An animal ran out in front of his truck and caused him to brake hard and swerve. He struck the guardrail on the opposite side of the road and rolled end to end several times. Sadly, our beautiful Winnie girl did not survive the accident. A Good Samaritan stopped at the scene to call 911 and to try and help Rodney. She was wonderful and my gratitude to her is endless.

When the ambulance arrived my headstrong husband had already pulled himself out of the truck and WALKED to the ambulance. But something wasn’t right. When I arrived at the scene it was devastating to see. The fact he was alive was a miracle. The officers on scene were shocked he lived much less WALKED away from the mangled truck. The paramedic asked me if his spine usually had a large bump in it, to which I replied “No”. The look on her face was terrifying. He was taken to the ER and I got there shortly after. It wasn’t long before we got the news his spine was broken on both sides of the column at T12, he had a broken left cheekbone, a broken sternum and several broken ribs. They told us he would need surgery as soon as possible to repair the spine. Thankfully, his cord was unharmed and he was moving his extremities. During surgery, they did find that he ripped muscle from the bone at the site of the break, which caused the surgery to be more extensive but they were able to repair the spine and the muscles successfully with a rod and several screws above and below the break. The following Wednesday, April 19, he had another surgery to repair his broken cheekbone. This was also a successful repair.

Rodney is a fighter. He’s strong and stubborn and that is working in his favor as he recovers from this terrible accident and the loss of his best friend and loyal companion, Winnie. He is in a lot of pain still but he is home now and recovering one day at a time, but we have a very long road ahead of us. Unfortunately, we are not insured and we are having to make changes in the home to accommodate for his recovery from his injuries. He won’t be able to work for at least 6-8 weeks. Time will tell us more about his recovery and how his injuries will affect his ability to return to work and in what capacity. We are still not certain how much physical therapy he will need or what our ongoing medical treatments will look like. This is difficult to write and share but we could use all the love and prayers we can get right now. Our families have been wonderful and supportive and we are so grateful to them and for them. Please keep our family and Rodney, especially, in your prayers.

--Mandi Dempsey