Tyler Stein
Donation protected
On April 11th, 2020 our lives changed forever. My nephew Tyler Stein was in a terrible four-wheeler accident. My brother, Amy, Taytum, and Tyler had stayed in the house under quarantine for 32 days straight. They were very nervous about COVID-19 and kept everyone separated from Tyler since he is a Type I diabetic and at higher risk. After sitting at home for all this time they were a little stir crazy. Uncle Kevin offered Mike and Amy’s family to visit him at his property in Illinois. They planned to catch some fresh air and go fishing. Mike and Amy thought this would be great to get out and enjoy some time with family not under close quarters.
During the day they went fishing, ate pizza, and were riding four wheelers around the lake. After dinner Tyler and Taytum both decided to ride the four-wheelers again. They were told they could ride but needed to stay close together. On one trip around the lake Taytum noticed Tyler’s four-wheeler was not moving. She immediately knew something was wrong. She sped as fast as she could over to him. She knew right away he was in trouble. She told him, “Tyler I LOVE YOU, Please don’t die. I’m going to get mom.” She ran as fast as she could to get Mike and Amy. When they got to him he was not conscious and hardly recognizable. He was bleeding from two areas on his head and pinned under the four-wheeler. 911 was called immediately and they were there within 5 minutes. Mike and Amy applied pressure to his head and he regained consciousness. He was crying and throwing up blood saying, “I’m in pain.” He had arm and leg movements but Amy wasn’t sure if these movement were purposeful or just due to trauma. EMS called for the flight team and Tyler was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.
He landed on the Hospital roof 8 minutes after takeoff. He was a code trauma and a team of doctors and nurses met him there. During the flight he was intubated to protect his airway. The flight crew said he was breathing on his own but knew he was in distress and had multiple fractures in his face that could compromise the airway at any moment. He was in critical condition. CT imaging was done as soon as he got there to determine what damage had been done. Mike and Amy were still 40 minutes away when Tyler got to the hospital. When they arrived they were immediately taken to radiology to talk about Tyler’s condition. They were told that he had a serious left orbital fracture, a skull fracture, and a left wrist fracture. Additional imaging was going to continue through-out the night. At this time they did not see any internal bleeding, but were not able to confirm this without further monitoring.
Soon after the initial trauma evaluation was completed, he was moved to room 12 on the eighth floor, which is the Pediatric ICU. The doctors quickly reviewed all of the imaging and the neurosurgery team was called. They were concerned that the severe left orbital fracture was pushing on the brain and causing swelling. Mike and Amy quickly signed the consent for Tyler to have a Craniotomy. This is where they peal back the skin, fix the facial fracture as best as possible and surgically remove the skull to help remove pressure and prevent brain swelling. The neurosurgeon was pleasantly surprised during surgery when he got down to the brain there was no swelling. The surgery was stopped after they fixed the facial fracture with a metal plate and screws. During surgery they could tell that his optic nerve was intact but his left eye was not reactive to light. They also decompressed the two broken bones in his arm and placed it in a cast.
After surgery the Critical Care doctor had to place a central line, which is an IV line that goes into a large vein to allow multiple medications to be administered. Tyler was placed on antibiotics, fentanyl, precedex, fluids, and an insulin drip. Multiple labs were obtained and he was closely monitored throughout the night. The lower half of his body was imaged and they were concerned about his left knee but did not see any fractures. By this time, it was apparent that Tyler hit the tree with the left side of his body.
Tyler is still in the pediatric ICU at St. Louis Children's Hospital on a ventilator. Mike is currently laid off due to COVID-19 and Amy will not be returning to work while Tyler is in such a critical condition. His recovery is projected to be a long process and their family will need a ton of love and support moving forward.
During the day they went fishing, ate pizza, and were riding four wheelers around the lake. After dinner Tyler and Taytum both decided to ride the four-wheelers again. They were told they could ride but needed to stay close together. On one trip around the lake Taytum noticed Tyler’s four-wheeler was not moving. She immediately knew something was wrong. She sped as fast as she could over to him. She knew right away he was in trouble. She told him, “Tyler I LOVE YOU, Please don’t die. I’m going to get mom.” She ran as fast as she could to get Mike and Amy. When they got to him he was not conscious and hardly recognizable. He was bleeding from two areas on his head and pinned under the four-wheeler. 911 was called immediately and they were there within 5 minutes. Mike and Amy applied pressure to his head and he regained consciousness. He was crying and throwing up blood saying, “I’m in pain.” He had arm and leg movements but Amy wasn’t sure if these movement were purposeful or just due to trauma. EMS called for the flight team and Tyler was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.
He landed on the Hospital roof 8 minutes after takeoff. He was a code trauma and a team of doctors and nurses met him there. During the flight he was intubated to protect his airway. The flight crew said he was breathing on his own but knew he was in distress and had multiple fractures in his face that could compromise the airway at any moment. He was in critical condition. CT imaging was done as soon as he got there to determine what damage had been done. Mike and Amy were still 40 minutes away when Tyler got to the hospital. When they arrived they were immediately taken to radiology to talk about Tyler’s condition. They were told that he had a serious left orbital fracture, a skull fracture, and a left wrist fracture. Additional imaging was going to continue through-out the night. At this time they did not see any internal bleeding, but were not able to confirm this without further monitoring.
Soon after the initial trauma evaluation was completed, he was moved to room 12 on the eighth floor, which is the Pediatric ICU. The doctors quickly reviewed all of the imaging and the neurosurgery team was called. They were concerned that the severe left orbital fracture was pushing on the brain and causing swelling. Mike and Amy quickly signed the consent for Tyler to have a Craniotomy. This is where they peal back the skin, fix the facial fracture as best as possible and surgically remove the skull to help remove pressure and prevent brain swelling. The neurosurgeon was pleasantly surprised during surgery when he got down to the brain there was no swelling. The surgery was stopped after they fixed the facial fracture with a metal plate and screws. During surgery they could tell that his optic nerve was intact but his left eye was not reactive to light. They also decompressed the two broken bones in his arm and placed it in a cast.
After surgery the Critical Care doctor had to place a central line, which is an IV line that goes into a large vein to allow multiple medications to be administered. Tyler was placed on antibiotics, fentanyl, precedex, fluids, and an insulin drip. Multiple labs were obtained and he was closely monitored throughout the night. The lower half of his body was imaged and they were concerned about his left knee but did not see any fractures. By this time, it was apparent that Tyler hit the tree with the left side of his body.
Tyler is still in the pediatric ICU at St. Louis Children's Hospital on a ventilator. Mike is currently laid off due to COVID-19 and Amy will not be returning to work while Tyler is in such a critical condition. His recovery is projected to be a long process and their family will need a ton of love and support moving forward.
Organiser and beneficiary
Angie Hoelscher
Organiser
City of Saint Peters, MO
Michael Stein
Beneficiary
