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August, 2002
You can now reach Jeff at: (406) 842-5689 (afternoons-evenings). Since Jeff feels ill on many days, please call before coming to visit. This way, he can let you know if he is up to it. He apologizes, in advance, for the times that he is not able to receive company. He wishes that he felt better so that he could enjoy each attempt that has been made. But he has good days once in awhile too, and like always he loves to visit and chat about motorcycles or whatever else comes to mind. So send him a card, give him a call, or head on over to the Big Sky Country and say hello. |
| Sat Aug 16, 2002 |
For everyone else, time flies by so fast it seems. As I look at the date on this page it's hard to believe it's been more than two years since it has been updated. I'll now try to have an update every month or two. For Jeff things are still very difficult. It's also hard to believe that we are approaching the 5th anniversary of Jeff's accident. A little over a year ago, in June of 2001, Jeff sold his house in Burien, WA, packed up his belongings and moved to Montana, something he had been wanting to do for many years. Jeff bought a house in the small cozy town of Sheridan and he is very happy there.
His medical condition has never improved over the past couple of years, and in recent weeks has deteriorated further. He still has the bed sores that although are better still have never completely healed. Jeff has been able to get into his chair for short periods of time to breathe some of the great Montana air. He is still having trouble with the fluid in his spine and his paralysis is starting to spread. Last week he caught his foor in the frame of his chair and broke it. Even though paralized, this was very painful and will take a long time to heal since he cannot have a cast on it (poor circulation won't allow that). Brother Mark just returned from a week-long visit at Jeff's, and worked hard to get Jeff's garage and workshop in order, as well as other errands around the house. Long-time childhood friend "Papa" Joe Elder is visiting Jeff this weekend, and other family members will be heading over next month. Mom has visited several times this year as well, long trips for her but so helpful for Jeff. Son Jonathan is living with Jeff and helping him on a daily basis while his other son Ryan stayed for most of the summer. I have listed Jeff's new phone number and mailing address on the main page. As of this writing Jeff does not have email but I when he does I will post his address. To all of his friends out there, drop him a card or short note to say hello, or give him a call. He loves hearing from everyone. The best time to phone him is in late afternoon to early evening. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sat Mar 04, 2000 |
Jeff has been bedridden for just over a year. Last March, the plastic
surgeon delayed treatment of a bedsore in order to take a 3 week vacation,
failing to refer Jeff to another physician for treatment while gone. As a
result, Jeff developed blood poisoning, osteomylitis and gangrene. He
required 4 surgeries within 30 days and lost 60 pounds during that time. The
antibiotics used to combat the osteomylitis caused both of his kidneys to
fail. Luckily, they reversed thereby avoiding the need for dialysis. The
loss of 60 pounds has been devastating to his health. Because he is so thin,
he has developed other bedsores which have kept him confined to bed.
Confinement has led to severe depression which causes lack of appetite, thus
causing a vicious cycle which he can't seem to break out of. He tries real
hard to find something positive to focus on each day, but he says he is "just
a bed sheet".
Although he misses his friends, he finds it hard to muster the strength to enjoy their visits. He is in terrible, unrelenting pain most of the time. When he seems to be sleeping or unsociable, it is because he is trying to mentally remove himself from his pain. Those who know and love him know this and are understanding. Most of his pain is in his left shoulder, arm and hand which is where those who visit tend to touch him, unknowingly causing him agony. One of the problems Jeff suffers from because of the accident, is that he developed syringomylia. This is a condition that is post-traumatic to a spinal cord injury. Syringomylia is a swelling along the spinal cord that fills with cerebrospinal fluid. It puts pressure on nerves, which causes pain, and it can also increase paralysis. Jeff's syrinx has increased over the past two years. We had the fluid aspirated from it this past summer, but during the procedure, he was left on a stretcher for an hour, then an MRI table for 45 minutes without precautions concerning his skin being taken. A bedsore developed because of this which caused his original flap on his sacrum to fail. This happened after the ordeal he went through last March. He is healing at this time, although it is a long, slow, tormenting process. If there are no more setbacks, and IF he can get his appetite back, we hope he will be able to leave the confinement of his bed by May. After many months of searching, we finally found the correct mattress for Jeff's delicate skin care issues. It is an alternating column air mattress that reduces pressure by deflating every third cell every two minutes. Insurance has agreed to buy it for him. Had they done so two years ago, about $200,000 would have been saved for further medical needs. And two years of further lessening his quality of life could have been avoided. Alas-Better late than never? We were also able to get insurance to purchase a standing machine for him. The use of this machine will enable him to move about in a standing position which will improve the health of his bladder, bones, circulation and overall well being. When he "road-tested" it many months ago, he started to cry because it made him feel so much better about himself. To be able to look down at those around him, rather than up, was very emotionally uplifting for him...and for us. For Christmas, a therapeutic hot tub was purchased for him out of the Benefit proceeds. Use of it will enable him exercise in a weightless condition which will be less painful for him. THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS GIFT! Not a day goes by without a thoughtful prayer of thanks to all of you who have contributed in your own way towards his well being and needs. Peter has continued staying in contact with Jeff, sending him messages of love and inspiration... Thank you Peter. Jeff has used some of this time to write a story about his last ride to Sturgis, in 1997, on the 1928 JD. It has been submitted for publication to Easyrider Magazine, and should be in the August 2000 issue. Although Jeff is unable to get "in the wind" at this time, he has wonderful stories that he wants to share with his friends. Hopefully he will start on another story, about his first ride to Sturgis on his Indian, very soon. So far, his new Wound doctor has been wonderful with Jeff's care. We hope to have him mobile very soon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wed Sep 29, 1999 |
Jeff is doing a little better, he still has good days and bad days but is able to get out of bed more often now. It's hard to believe it's been nearly two years since the accident, which has probably seemed like 10 years for Jeff. His bed sores are still a source of aggravation but they are finally getting better.
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| Tue July 27, 1999 |
For the first time since March, Jeff was able to get out of bed and into his wheelchair. He is still having trouble with the bedsores healing, but they are getting better. He will still have to be bedridden for several more weeks, but at least will have a few breaks during the day. He has lot a lot of weight the past few months and is starting to gain some of that back. His headaches are constant but not happening as often. If you get a chance, send him an email, card or give him a phone call, he would love to hear from his friends...
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| Mon May 24, 1999 | Jeff arrived home last week, but must remain bed-ridden for at least the next two months, lying flat on his back. He continues to suffer with constant stomach and headaches.
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| Mon May 10, 1999 | This is how long Jeff has been hospitalized recently - 7 weeks, spent mostly lying down. He has been through three more surgeries, two for his never-healing bedsore and some emergency work when antibiotics caused his kidneys to nearly fail just days ago. He will be able to return home this week, but must spend the next few weeks lying flat in a special sand/air bed. It's hard to believe it's been 1-1/2 years since the accident and that Jeff is still struggling to survive. He's had only a few "good" days without pain, discomfort or plenty of other problems, we're all still hoping that at least a little luck will come his way soon.
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| Tue Mar 23, 1999 | Jeff is taken to Northwest hospital after his temperature reaches 106 degrees. He has Osteomylitis (a bone infection) in both hips along with blood poisoning, both very serious problems.
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| Sat Mar 20, 1999 | Here's a recap on Jeff's condition during the past four months... Jeff entered the hospital last December with a pressure wound and pneumonia. He spent one week in the hospital and several more weeks recovering, confined to a bed. In January we learned the doctor was giving him a toxic amount of medication in his internal pump. He had not been feeling well at all for several months so it was a relief to have the medication finally adjusted. He began to feel better within a couple of days, but then the pressure wound became infected and he was again confined to his bed, only able to get up three times a day for an hour at a time. This seemed to help the pressure wound, but the doctors discovered more damage so he is scheduled for another surgery on March 28th. This will confine Jeff for at least three weeks or longer...
Jeff would appreciate cards, letters, articles, phone calls, etc., as he is getting tired of staring at the ceiling and wants to get back to work. Mother is trying to convince many of Jeff's friend to quit smoking and offer moral support for Jeff. He cannot have hand surgery until he quits smoking, as it is causing poor circulation in his body. Jeff will be celebrating his 44th birthday on April 4th... You can reach Jeff at: (206) 243-5126. Address mail to: Jeff McGeary, 16029 19th SW, Seattle, WA. 98166. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sun Oct 4, 1998 | It's now been five months since the benefit and exactly one year since Jeff's accident. For most of us the year has gone fast, but for Jeff each day is still filled with challenges and his never-ending pain. In July Jeff went into the hospital again for carpal tunnel surgery on his left hand. Part of his index knuckle had to be removed due to infection and the thin skin around it.
In late August Jeff had his annual get-together reunion at his house in Burien. It was the largest crowd ever as more than 50 of Jeff's friends showed up to visit and see how he was doing. A week earlier his custom made wheelchair had arrived from Sweden, a major improvement in comfort and mobility over the older basic model he had been using. His only complaint was that it was not fast enough! Guess he'll have to beef up the mechanics when he feels better. Jeff was in good spirits the entire evening, and enjoyed visiting with his friends and relatives. Slides of the benefit were shown outside at dusk as a couple different barbecues spewed out steak and hamburgers. In September Jeff entered the hospital yet again to have a morphine pump implanted inside his stomach. None of the pain medications Jeff had been given so far were very effective, so this method was decided on. The function of the pump is to be able to allow the pain medicine to flow evenly to his spine, more effective than pills or shots. Unfortunately, the area became infected due to neglect at the hospital, and Jeff is still fighting this, having had to return again to the hospital for a few more days. Jeff was also encouraged by the recent news from Europe involving a apparently successful implant of an entire hand. Perhaps it may be years before this procedure is perfected, but the possibility now exists in the future for Jeff to have a new hand. A friend of his has offered to pay the entire cost of this surgery should it ever become a reality. This week Jeff will go in for electrical-stimulation tests on his spine and legs, the goal to try and cause some movement activity in his legs. Coincidentally, one of Jeff's brothers was leaving Albertsons today and was handed a newspaper-like flyer from a Shriner. Once home he was ready to toss it but decided to have a glance. Inside on page two was a large article on Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). The implanted lower-extremity FES system can allow a paralyzed person to stand and walk with the aid of crutches. A Philadelphia teenager recently had the system successfully installed. Medical technology continues to advance rapidly. Let's hope that Jeff and others like him will benefit from these breakthroughs in the near future. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wed May 06 | After 214 days in the hospital (more than seven months), Jeff returns home... Friends are already there planning the modifications that he will need for his house. Today he was able, just once, to very slightly move his right leg - certainly encouraging news. Jeff is extremely grateful for the generous and massive outpouring of support surrounding the benefit. Thanks to everyone!! ... Annual Benefits are being planned to help other fellow bikers, and will be named after Indian Jeff. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sat May 02 | Jeff attends the benefit, joins Peter on the Captain America bike stage. He arrived late because he had been given the wrong pain medication and was uncomfortable. He had to return to the hospital to get it corrected. Jeff stayed at the event for several hours and visited with many of his long-time friends and guests. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fri. May 01 | The day before the benefit, Peter went to Norm's shop (Antique Cycles Northwest) to visit with Jeff. It was an emotional reunion. They had a great time together and later enjoyed a nice salmon dinner. King TV's Evening Magazine filmed an interview for an upcoming story, and Jeff & Peter also went to KOOK for a live radio interview. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fri. Apr. 24 |
Jeff is doing much better now and has even taken the bus by himself a few times to go to work at Norm's shop. He'll be in rehab at least another month or two and will perhaps be able to go home sometime in June. He is looking forward to attending the Benefit next weekend with Peter and friends...
| Fri. Mar. 27 | Jeff's condition continues to improve. Today he will taken in a van for a visit to Norm's shop in the U-District, his first journey outside of hospitals in 6 months...
| Sun. Mar. 15 | Jeff continues his rehab at the UW Rehab center. He is able to sit in a wheelchair for short periods of time, a nice reprieve from laying flat on his back for so many months. He is still in a lot of pain, his neck and shoulder are still giving him some trouble. There is still a little fluid leakage from his spine, and doctors have not yet agreed on what the best method is to address the problem, as another operation could possibly cause further paralysis. His hands are still quite sore and sensitive, but he has been able to grab a spoon and feed himself at times. He was in pretty good spirits today, but the past couple weeks have been very difficult for him. Plans are well under way for the May 2nd benefit in Seattle, and we are hoping that he will be well enough to attend, at least for a short period of time.
| Thu. Feb. 26 | Today Jeff was moved to the University of Washington Rehab Center, room 824 8N. We'll have the complete address and directions in the next day or so.
| Sat. Feb. 14 | Yesterday's surgery lasted about 4 hours and went well. They removed one pin from his back, and opened an area for fluid to drain out. The Doctor said that his back was healing nicely. It appears that Jeff will be soon heading to the University of Washington for his required 3 months of rehab.
| Fri. Feb. 13 | Jeff's back surgery is scheduled for 1:00pm today. They will be removing some pins from his spine and installing a type of drain to release a build-up of fluid. Earlier this week Jeff was able to leave his room in his wheelchair and travel around the hallways. An attachment on his hand has allowed him to dial
and answer his phone, and play music from a small boom box. The benefit committee has confirmed the date of May 2nd for the event with Peter Fonda, which will be held at a skating hall near Spokane Street in Seattle. More details will be available very soon.
| Fri. Feb. 06 | Jeff's back is healing very well, and he should be out of the special bed in just a few days. He is anxious to get up and start his rehab, which will continue about three months. If all goes well, he should be able to go home sometime in May - 8 months after the accident. On Tuesday, Dave Barr came and visited Jeff. Mr. Barr lost both of his legs in a 1972 accident and has since traveled around the world on his '72 Harley. The book he wrote about his travels was one of Jeff's favorites, and Jeff had really been looking forward to finally meeting him.
| Becky called Jeff on Wednesday and confirmed that both she and Peter would be in Seattle for the benefit concert, scheduled for May 2nd. We'll post more details on Jeff's main page as they become available. Sun. Jan. 17 | Jeff's back surgery was performed on Friday the 15th and lasted 6 hours. Everything went ok, and Jeff is in a special water/sand bed that he will have to stay in for 3 weeks. Near the end of the month they will perform surgery on his upper spine, which has a fluid blockage. Hopefully that will be his last major operation that he will have to go through and he can get on with his rehab. He has now been hospitalized nearly four months, and it may be a couple more before he is able to come home.
| Sun. Jan. 10 | Jeff's lower-back bedsore surgery is tentatively scheduled for early this coming week, which will require grafting some muscle from his thigh. It will then be 3-4 weeks of recuperation before they can perform the neck-blockage surgery. He was up in his chair quite a bit yesterday. We will be catching him up on his email today...
| Wed. Jan. 07 | They finally removed the metal halo from Jeff's head after 3 long months. His shoulder is still very painful, and doctors are trying to determine what is wrong and what needs to be done. It was thought that his broken collarbone has not been healing correctly, causing the discomfort. They performed an MRI test on the shoulder, but due to the metal rods in his back (2 pins that were used to brace his spine during back his surgery in October), the test was not conclusive, and a mylegram test was done (a process involving inserting dye into his spine), of which the results should be known in the next few days. On a negative side, the test revealed that Jeff has a fluid blockage in his upper spine/neck area that will require yet another surgery to open up his spine to drain the blockage. Jeff also still faces surgery on his lower back due to the large bedsore that he has, and doctors are trying to get his nutrition level up in order to do the operation, possibly in the next two weeks. Earlier this week Jeff was able to feel his toe being squeezed, and even knew which toe it was (maybe a little bit of good news) but it
was also said to be perhaps normal to have a slight sensation now and then.
| Thu. Dec. 25 | Most of Jeff's family went to visit him on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas day. Jeff was in a great mood, and with the exception of some shoulder pain, was fairly comfortable. The new location at Providence seems much nicer than Harborview. We read him lots of his email letters which he enjoyed very much. The bandages have been removed from his right hand, which is now starting to heal. He would like to thank everyone for their cards, letters, gifts, and support.
| Wed. Dec. 24 | Jeff has been moved from Harborview to Providence Medical Center, 6th floor, room 630 East (Rehab area). They will start more rehab on Jeff at this facility. His serious lower-back compression sore is still not healing well and will require further surgery in the weeks ahead. The operation will require muscle to be removed from his thigh to be used on his back. The metal halo neck brace should be able to be removed in about 10 days.
| Tue. Dec. 16 | Not much to report in the past few days, other than Jeff caught the head/chest cold that has been going around the past couple of months, which may delay some planned minor surgery for his hands.
| Thu. Dec. 11 | Jeff's shoulder has been giving him a lot of pain the past few days, due to his broken collar bone. They finally found a pain medication that was effective and Jeff was feeling better today, although still somewhat uncomfortable due to the heavy neck brace. They removed the bandages from his right hand, and a doctor will be in to see him tomorrow to assess what type of prosthesis they can provide for him. He will have a choice of a couple different types that he can "change" depending on what task he wants to do. Jeff will undergo further surgery sometime in the next week for the serious compression sore on his lower back. The operation will require skin grafting, and afterwards he will have to be confined to a special bed, flat on his back, for three weeks. During that time they will be escalating the physical therapy. Doctors plan a meeting on Monday, this time with Jeff present, to go over his condition, progress, and future prognosis. He said he is really looking forward to the planned benefit in March with Peter Fonda and friends, and also mentioned that when he is out of the hospital, he will ride again...
| Sun. Dec. 7 | Jeff was in a very positive mood today, and is talking well. He was laughing about his recently acquired crew-cut, his shortest trim by far in 30+ years. It was so tangled and curled he decided to get rid of it, and afterwards made a comment about liking the new style!
| Sat. Dec. 6 | Jeff has been moved to the 8th floor, room 812 East. The trach tube is now totally gone and the only tube he has attached to him is an i.v. He is able to speak much better now and is able to drink juices and eat applesauce. The metal head brace may be removed soon and replaced with the plastic version, which should only have to be on for a few more weeks.
| Fri. Nov. 28 | The hand surgery was performed late Tuesday night and went well. At the same time he had surgery on his back for a very large bed sore. Family members and friends visited Jeff on Thanksgiving and he was very alert and in pretty good spirits. He is now breathing on his own, and doctors hope to be able to remove the trach tube in a few days. The steel halo should be able to be tossed in about a month. He can now move both arms very well, as earlier his left arm was barely able to move. Jeff can now mouth words, even at times with a very faint whisper. Friend Julio cleverly attached a large pen to his thickly bandaged right hand, allowing Jeff to communicate on paper. He expressed an obvious desire to have some real food, as he has been on a liquid i-v for almost 8 weeks. They have just started allowing him to have some ice cubes and small sticks of gum. He also mentioned displeasure with the "service" he was getting. We had him laughing at times, and he wrote a lot of interesting things on his notepad, some which have been hung up on the wall behind him. On one page in large letters he wrote the word "cow", referring to what he hit that caused his accident. He said that he was going around 50 mph.
| Sun. Nov. 23 | Jeff is scheduled to undergo surgery in the next couple days for his hands...they will have to totally remove all of his fingers and thumb on his left hand, and on his right hand they will remove all fingers to the first knuckle and about 25% of his thumb. It is hoped in about a year that they will be able to perform further surgery on his right thumb to extend it to 100% length, and perhaps graft one of his toes for his left "thumb". That is about all they will be able to do.
| "Papa Joe" Elder visited yesterday and reports that Jeff was very alert. Jeff replied to Joe's questions by blinking his eyes, and acknowledged that he knew of the damage to his hands and was anxious to get the surgery over with so that he could get on with his rehab. It is estimated that he will be in Harborview at least 2-3 more months. His medical bills so far have surpassed $250,000... Mon. Nov. 17 | Jeff is finally out of the Intensive Care Unit after six long weeks. He is now in the Intermediate Care Unit on the 7th floor, room 719 East. His breathing is getting better but he still has congestion in his lungs. They are talking about doing the finger surgery in the near future so that they can start rehab. He was pretty sleepy today as they had just moved him and were doing a lot of stuff to get him settled in and the doctors were going to try and attend to some of his bed sores.
| Thu. Nov. 13 | Jeff had the trache surgery this afternoon, changed from Wednesday, and all went well. The throat tube is gone and he can finally close his mouth. He was very sedated today from the surgery, and will probably be more alert tomorrow.
| Wed. Nov. 12 | Jeff is scheduled for surgery today, but could be bumped if other patient emergencies come up. They will remove the large throat tube (finally, after 5 weeks!) and insert the trachea and the stomach tube.
He won't be able to speak for awhile, but will be able to form words with his mouth. He will certainly be a lot more comfortable with that 1" tube gone.
| Sun. Nov. 9 | Jeff seemed a little more awake today and his temperature was normal. They were letting him breath on his own for about 4 hours and will re-evaluate in the morning about what to do about a trach (they had thought that he may need one) or whether they can try and wean him off the breathing tube without doing the trach. Nancy decided to let them go ahead and schedule a surgery for Wednesday and if
he doesn't need it so be it. We would like to see him get the tube out of his throat before that but that probably won't happen. They will take the feeding tube out of his throat and insert one in his stomach because he still needs extra food and will not be able to swallow until his throat heals. | The feeding tube in his nose somehow slipped and allowed food to enter his lungs which caused him the most trouble this last week, causing a new pneumonia, but his lungs are looking much better today - and Nancy told the doctors it would be okay to put the tube directly into his stomach. We are still praying that he will get some movement in his legs. Let's hope and pray the news will get better...Patty Noble from Idaho (a late night radio talk show host) did a special dedicated to Jeff last week and we hope to get some copies made of the show. Tue. Nov. 4 | Finally, a little bit of good news! They are letting Jeff breath a little on his own and expect if everything goes okay to take him off the respirator by the week-end. They have removed the tubes from his lungs so
things are improving as regards to the pneumonia.
| Sun. Nov. 2 | The pneumonia has still been a problem during the past week as they had to increase the number of tubes to three. Yesterday
they were able to remove the two extra tubes, suggesting slight signs of improvement. He was also much more alert and would respond to questions by blinking his eyes (with the ventilator he is not able to speak). He is still heavily sedated and starting his fifth week in intensive care. The nurses have been moving him at times during the day to a special chair to sit him upright. His hands are also being exercised throughout the day, and doctors have stated that they will wait 3-4 months for the hand surgery. A new, metal neckbrace was installed a few days ago, as the other type was wearing into his chin. Jeff will need this brace for at least a couple of months. Thanks to everyone for their letters and phone calls of support, they are always appreciated. As soon as the pneumonia is out of the way, the ventilator tube will be removed and he will be less sedated. The family hopes to allow visitors shortly thereafter. However, the doctors say this could be days or weeks. Please continue with your prayers, he still has a ways to go.
| We would also like to thank Mr. Roy Weaver of Montana. He is the gentleman who found Jeff at the side of the road. Roy and a friend had just eaten breakfast with the local medic crew and were on their way to church when they saw Jeff and his crashed motorcycle. His friend stayed with Jeff, and Roy immediately went back to the restaurant and summoned the medics. They were there within minutes. He most likely saved his life, as Jeff's body temperature was only 80 degrees, 4 degrees lower and Doctors said he would not have made it. Sat. Oct. 25 | Jeff came down with pneumonia in his other lung this week, so is now fighting double-pneumonia. They were able to sit him up slightly in a special bed this week, probably very welcome after lying on his back for so long, almost 3 weeks now. Not too much else to report, hopefully the pneumonia will subside soon...
| Mon. Oct. 20 | The main focus for the doctors right now continues to be on Jeff's lungs, as he is still fighting pneumonia. They are using the latest and best antibiotics on the market in order to try and fight it, and are now saying that this could take one to two more weeks. Once his lungs are healed, they will be able to remove his respirator and sit him up- he's been on his back for 15 days now. He would then be moved out of the CCU unit to begin rehab. They will not have to operate on his knee/leg, the torn ligaments will heal on their own. The neck brace he will have to wear for an estimated 2-3 months. The small fractures in his feet will also heal on their own. The only surgery now scheduled will be in 2-3 weeks for his hands. They will know more at that time the extent of the damage to his fingers.
| Sat. Oct. 18 | Not much change in the last couple of days. His temp is down a little and they lowered the amount of oxygen being administered. His back is healing nicely from the surgery. A conference is scheduled Monday afternoon between the doctors and the family to assess his present condition and future medical requirements. We hope to have some of that information posted here early Monday night.
| Wed. Oct. 15 | Jeff is still fighting the pneumonia and will be very heavily sedated for the next couple of days. For that reason, we would like to ask all but immediate family members to wait until further notice before going up to visit him. We will post an update here when that restriction is lifted. There is some slight improvement in the circulation in his hands, and today they were stretching and exercising all of his fingers. His temperature is still high at 102d. He is still on the respirator and the doctors did not know yet how long he will have to have this hooked up, they said it could be days or a week or longer. The family would like to thank everyone for all of their support and prayers, it is very much appreciated!
| Tue. Oct. 14 | Late yesterday they gave him 2 pints of blood, and his temperature had dropped down to normal. Today it was back up a little to 101d. They were also trying a different antibiotic today to help fight the pneumonia. He still has to deal with the respiratory tube, which they are not sure how long he will have to have in. He seems a little more alert, but still very uncomfortable.
| Mon. Oct. 13 | I just got back from a quick
visit as I went up early to get a parking pass from the hospital. He
seemed more awake but still frustrated about the tube and of course I
don't know how much they have told him about his condition.
His temp was down a little..still a wait and pray situation..ask everyone
on the web that reads the updates to please continue praying for a
miracle....Mom
| Sun. Oct. 12 | Jeff comes down with a mild case of pneumonia and a high temperature of 103 degrees. It is just determined that he will need surgery on his elbow. A knee operation is also planned to repair torn ligaments. His breathing tube is still required and will be for at least several more days.
| Sat. Oct. 10 | Doctors continue to closely monitor for respiratory infection and pneumonia.
| Thu. Oct. 9 | Jeff undergoes back surgery
to repair severely crushed vertebrae. The operation lasts 7 hours and goes well. It will be several more weeks before more is known.
| Tue. Oct. 7 | Extensive tests are performed, including MRI* scans and x rays. Severe frostbite has caused damaged to both hands. Doctors say that several fingertips may be lost, but that it will be a month before the exact extent of the damage is known. | *(MRI is Magnetic resonance imaging, a diagnostic technique that provides high quality cross-sectional images of organs and structures within the body without x rays or other radiation. The patient lies inside a massive, hollow, cylindrical magnet and is exposed to short bursts of a powerful magnetic field.) Mon. Oct. 6 | The decision is made to have Jeff flown back to a Seattle hospital. His injuries were too serious for the closer-to-home Valley General Hospital, and so he is taken to Harborview hospital in downtown Seattle due to their expertise in serious trauma/injury cases. Jeff arrives via a medical flight at around 2:00PM.
| Sun. Oct. 5 | Jeff's wife Nancy and his mother, Virginia, fly to Dillon to be with Jeff. Most of this day is spent trying to raise his body temperature and assess his injuries.
| Sun. Oct. 5 | After 12 hours in 10 degree weather, he was found unconscious at the side of the road by a rancher on his way to church around 10:00 am. Taken to a nearby hospital in Dillon, injuries are numerous and include a crushed vertebrae, neck fractures, frostbitten hands, torn knee ligaments, collapsed lung, and head and other injuries. His body temperature upon arriving at the hospital had dropped to 80 degrees. A breathing tube is required. Condition is listed as critical.
| Sat. Oct. 4 | Jeff is involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Wisdom (near Dillon), Montana, around 10:00pm.
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