Phillip (John) Miller Jr. (Grandpa) (Dad)(Husband)

Hello, my name is Joshua and I am hoping to raise funds for my mother to help her cover expenses after my father's accident.

On the morning of November 30th my dad climbed onto his four-wheeler and headed out into the woods to enjoy a relaxing day in the woods.

Just earlier that month the two of us built a new hunting platform off the edge of a meadow overlooking a hillside below. I wanted to build this platform for dad so he wouldn't have to climb up and down tree stand ladders anymore. As many of you might know it gets harder and harder each year to climb stairs let alone climb up into a tree. I was afraid he would slip and fall out of a tree, so I built him a nice 8x8 foot platform with stairs, a bench seat, railing and even a roof.

Around 830am on that Thursday my dad flipped his four-wheeler while going up a hill on his way to his hunting spot. The four-wheeler landed on his chest and pinned him to the ground. Unknown to him at the time this event had broken 4 ribs, his sternum, and his T4 in his back. Even with his injuries the adrenaline rushing thru him gave him the strength to push the 500lb ATV off himself and to his side. Dad was then able to roll the four-wheeler back onto its wheels and he walked it down to the bottom of the hill.

At this time, he tried to climb back onto the four-wheeler, but he was unable to lift his leg due to the pain from his injuries. He was unable to get back onto the four-wheeler and could not get back out of the woods. Luckily, he had his cell phone with him and he tried to call the farmhouse where his brother (my uncle) Dave was for help but the phone in the house was not working. My cousin was also on the property hunting on the other side of the property but unfortunately where he was located his phone did not have cell service.

My father called to tell me what happened and that he needed help. I tried to call my uncle and my cousin multiple times to no avail. I talked with my dad a few more time on the phone to tell him I was trying to get help headed his way. My dad did not relay the true extent of his injuries the first time I talked with him on the phone. After trying to call my cousin and uncle I talked with dad again and he said he wasn't' sure if he was going to make. With me being about 180 miles away at this point I reached out to everyone I could think of using old cell numbers, Facebook, and instant messenger.

I was having no luck getting in touch with anyone that could get to dad to help. The couple of people that I did reach where not home or at work. At this time I dropped to my knees in the bedroom of my house and while crying I called out to the Lord and began to pray for help.

During this time my dad had call my mom and she got in touch with 911 and got help headed his direction. Our property is very remote, and the volunteer fire department had no idea of where he was at on the property. They just went there with a SXS and ATV and started searching.

At this point I didn't know if anyone was going to get to dad in time to get him the help he needed. Around an hour after my dad had flipped his four-wheeler help did arrive and they were able to transport him to the small local hospital. It was there that the extent of his injuries became clear. After he was stabilized, he was transported to the larger hospital in Charleston, WV later that night.

The following day things seemed like he was going to be okay (long recovery with lots of pain). His broken ribs had not punctured his lungs and his back was broken in a way that was not going to affect his spine and would heal without surgery. The sternum would heal on its own in time as well just like the ribs and back.

After consulting with the spine doctor about his back he was stepped down from ICU to a regular room. They said he could have regular food, so he ate a meal in his hospital bed while talking with my mom. Shortly after this my mom called me and said dad just went blank and was unresponsive. While talking on the phone with my mom we both heard them call "Code Blue" over the PA system.

I told my mom I was on my way and hung up the phone and jumped into my car to start the 4hr drive to the hospital. About 5 minutes later my phone rang again. I was so scared to answer the phone as I didn't want to hear the bad news. Fortunately, at this time my mom told me they got him back with CPR. They moved him back up to ICU and I continued my drive. I spent the rest of that Friday and Saturday with my dad at the hospital.

You can imagine what having CPR does to a regular person's sternum and ribs let alone when yours are already broken. Dad was in a lot of additional pain but managing.

We talked about all the normal stuff he enjoyed, hunting, fishing, complaining about things and wondering if the nurse was ever going to bring him the ice chips that he requested. During this time the staff was very worried about him taking deep enough breaths and had him doing lung exercises to help prevent pneumonia.

As it turns out this was a valid worry as throughout the day Sunday his breathing diminished and by 2am Monday morning he was on a ventilator. We later found out that dad had developed an infection in his lungs and one of the bugs was MRSA. The hospital he was at was a Trama unit and not really equipped to handle this type of long-term lung support. Things were going downhill fast during the week and by Friday they transferred him to another hospital that had the ability to do ECMO (heart lung machine) as his lungs where not exchanging oxygen and CO2 as they should.

Again, I made the 4hr trip under duress to see dad at the new hospital thinking the worse. When I got to the hospital, they had him stabilized again and his vitals were looking better (not good my any means but better than 4hrs before). The staff was very positive about his chances and things started moving in the right direction over the next couple of days. His lung function was improving, and they were making small changes to the ventilator settings to lower the O2 and pressure. This continued for a couple days and things stalled out with his progress.

A few days later we found out that he developed and infection (different bacteria) in his lungs and the MRSA was still there. On that following Friday the hospital called early in the morning and said the Dr wanted to speak with us. We knew this was bad news. We talked with the Dr. and he said that the lungs had continued to degrade and where not making any progress. We were also informed that all of the meds and the high pressure from the ventilation where straining his heart and it was showing signs of weakening.

Saturday after this talk we informed the rest of the family that it was time to come visit and he had lots of family and friends come by the room for a final visit. It was amazing the amount of people that came by to give respect to this quite homebody of a man.

On Sunday the Dr. spoke with us again about how his heart and other organs were shutting down. Unaware of this information the Men's group at my church had arranged to call us with a group prayer that day after service.

Around 1pm along with my family in the room a group of about 30 great men gathered and prayed over the phone for my dad and all of the family for the peace of God and the Holy Spirit to blanket us all and give us comfort.

Later that day while holding his hand and family around him, my father peacefully went to be with the Lord.

My family come from a modest background and are not the type of people that would ask for help. That is why I am making this fund on behalf of my mother as I know she would not do it on her own.

If you have taken the time to read this lengthy post, I would like to say thanks. Even if you don't donate just the fact that I was able to share this story with you is a comfort to me.

My Dad will be missed but I take great joy and comfort in knowing that he knew Jesus Christ as his savor, and he is in heaven rejoicing in the presence of the Lord.

We never know when God will call us home so, please cherish every moment you have with loved ones.