Jeff Eckelberry Medical Bills
On May 28th, Jeff and his wife Joyce were starting a camping trip to the Grand Canyon. Shortly after starting their trip, the camper trailer they were towing had a tire blow out just outside of Eudora, KS. While Jeff was changing the tire, the trailer fell off the jack and landed on his head and shoulder area - pinning him underneath it.
Emergency personnel were able to arrive at the scene quickly and were able to lift the trailer off of him and pull him out. The officers were able to keep him alive until the ambulance arrived. He was rushed to Overland Park Medical Center Trauma Center.
Jeff’s facial bones were largely pulverized. In the words of one surgeon, they were in ‘a million pieces.’ He had a small bleed in his brain but not to the extent that it required immediate surgery. He also suffered a broken arm.
After 4 days in the ICU, facial reconstruction surgery was performed on Jeff. The surgeon used plates, rods, and screws to try and reconfigure his facial structure. The surgery lasted for approximately 6 hrs and the surgeon was happy with how it went.
Jeff is currently still in ICU, but the doctors are hopeful he can be moved to a standard room in a day or two. Jeff still has a long road ahead of him with recovery. The only reason we have made it this far is from the tireless work of the emergency personnel on the scene and the trauma team at Overland Park Medical Center. Also, Jeff is here today because of Joyce’s incredibly quick thinking and brave actions on the scene. The family would like to specifically thank the members of the Eudora PD, Douglas County PD, and the Kansas Highway patrol that went above and beyond to save Jeff’s life and to support Joyce at the scene.
This gofundme is being done in order to try and raise funds to help cover some of the large medical bills that are facing Jeff and Joyce for his current treatment as well as his future therapy and rehabilitation services. We want to try and remove that stressor from them so that Jeff and Joyce can focus on what really matters.
Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers. They mean more to Jeff, Joyce, and the family than you can know.
