“They always said you should try out the other side of a “first responder”/EMT call…” quipped Joseph from his bed at Rice Memorial Hospital. Around 4:45 PM on Saturday,October 29th, Joseph fell about 4 feet from a combine platform, taking the whole impact on his right side. He worked another half hour or so and determined he had better go home. Mom found him prone on the living room floor and asked what happened to you? He mumbled something about “blunt trauma, lower left quadrant.” Thankfully,he also supplied the translation, and with the help of his first aid flip chart, we determined that an abdominal injury required transport. Kelvin and Susan drove a very painful Joseph to Renville County hospital’s ER, where our family practice doctor met us. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but no other clues as to the extent of the internal damage. He was given a pain shot, and sent home, with specific things we were to watch for.
After sleeping an hour or so, Joseph began vomiting, and later passed large quantities of blood in his urine. We then contacted the doctor again, who requested an ambulance transport to Rice Memorial in Willmar. Over one dozen first responders and EMT’s from Joseph’s two companies answered the page for a 21 year old male with suspected internal injuries.
Joseph’s younger siblings sat on his bed to get a closer look at the proceedings.
At the hospital, a CTR scan was ordered which revealed a “cracked kidney” surrounded by a bulging blood-filled membrane. Since the bleeding was literally contained, surgery was put on hold. Joseph spent a quiet night in ICU, with blood levels monitored every 3 hours to check for continued bleeding.
This morning we were making progress, which appeared to be lost by late afternoon, as temp, heart rate, BP and pain levels all increased. More morphine is helping the pain, as well as the multitude of prayers going up from friends and family. Joseph’s hemoglobin levels were the only thing dropping, from 14 (normal) to 11.5 to 11 to 9 by 3:00PM. Another blood draw was requested at 8:00, with the “number to beat” being 9. Joseph squeaked by with a 9.3, his first upturn.
This BLOG is posted so that you can find out what’s happening. We’ll try to keep it updated. Many have already come to visit, and even more have called. Such an outpouring of love! and yet, we had to request a “no visitors” order by Sunday evening as both Mom and Joseph were getting stressed. (Kelvin spent most of Saturday night at the hospital, tonight he’s up loading turkeys, so Susan went this evening, and the kids knew how to hold down the fort.
This morning I asked myself the question, “why did you let this happen, LORD?” I believe He answered, “Ask why is that ALL that I allowed to happen…”
I know the plans that I have for you, says the LORD…plans for good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope! Jeremiah 29:11