Upstate SC Dad Suffers Broken Neck
Brian Tribble, husband, dad, veteran, farmer, & passionate businessman. If you know him, you know his zest for life. He fiercely loves his wife, his family, Jesus, and adventure. On Friday, February 16, 2018, Brian and his boys were out riding dirt bikes when Brian had a horrible accident. He took a dive into the ground and broke his neck in 5 places, including C1 and C2, and also broke his left wrist. He was unable to move his neck or feel his hands upon impact and was immediately taken to Greenville Health System. He received a miracle -- he is not paralyzed. The current treatment plan is to keep him sedated and totally still because any movement could paralyze him or even be fatal. Surgery is scheduled for Monday to repair what can be repaired and he faces 3 months of recovery ahead.
Why am I starting this GoFundMe? Because the Tribble family needs us, all who know & love them, to help. As most of you know, Nicole is a full-time mom to 3 boys, a full-time home school teacher, and manages their farm and garden which provides for their family. Brian has been unemployed for 3 months and they are in need of miraculous financial provision, as their savings is completely depleted. Although Brian had a career opportunity right at his fingertips with a job he was supposed to start Monday, that is now all on hold to allow for surgery and healing. If any of us were in this same position, I can confidently say that Brian Tribble would rally his family together to boldly pray for us and provide financial relief. I ask that you also spend time in prayer for Brian, for Nicole and their family, and ask God what He is calling you to give to help this family. No amount is too small. I sincerely thank you for taking the time to prayerfully consider giving, for your prayers for the family and complete healing for Brian, & for your generosity.
*Please do not reach out to Brian or Nicole at this time. Nicole is advocating for Brian and her plate is full as she balances time with Brian, her boys, and their farm. If have questions, please reach out to Jeannie Gurule via FB or the contact link provided on this page. I’m in touch with Nicole once or twice a day to communicate about Brian’s status and and will continue to update this page with any info I have. I know we’reall eager to know more.
* No visitors are allowed at this time. It is flu season and the fact that even the smallest cough could be life-changing for Brian, it's in his best interest that he does not see anyone and risk being exposed to germs.
*A meal train is being setup by their home school co-op and when I have that link, I will add it here.
02/17/2018 Feedback at 10:00pm in Nicole's words:
"Today I am thankful for so many things. I cried a lot today. Some of it was natural worry and disappointment. Most of it was just being overwhelmed at the support, the action, the love, and the sacrifices of so many friends and acquaintances.
My best friend set up a GoFundMe page with the affirmation that she knows my husband so well. I was thankful that her summary of him was a plea, and not an obituary. Seriously. Few of us get to see that this side of heaven.
An acquaintance from CC hounded me about eating until she basically just said I'm going to Trader Joe's, I'm coming to the hospital, you are a warrior and warriors have to eat. Those 3 bites of food in 24 hours helped me press through the next few hours.
My neighbor is keeping the kids and has kept up with the farm. She came in and did my dishes today and when I dropped the kids back off for overnight after a visit with Brian, she set a very small portion of whole food in front of me and said try your best. I did. I would not have otherwise. She then loaded my front seat with a grocery run of quick and easy take along food.
A furnace repair man who drove an hour to get my heat back on tonight.
The enormous support and prayers going up for us on social media.
I sobbed after checking the GoFundMe page to see what strangers and family and friends and anonymous people were sacrificing for US. Thank you!
I shook my fist at God yesterday and I am so thankful I am confident in my Daddy that he was still smiling on me and singing me a lullaby through my anger. He reminded me that when Brian fell, he was paralyzed. Then he got up his mat and walked. God has already healed Brian of so much, and will continue to. I asked him how in the world we were going to get through yet another and totally insurmountable trial, and he said, "WATCH ME".
Our 16 year old took care of his dad's every need for 3 hours today while I went and handled stuff, from getting the straw to his mouth to helping him pee. And his tenderness that he would break down and sob in my arms afterwards.
And most precious of all is that after we prayed over Brian's healing as a family, Stevie asked if he could pray again. These were Stevie's words, "Father, please help Daddy feel better. Please heal him of all of his wounds. Thank you Father for my daddy. Thank you for life. Thank you for this day that he is alive. Thank you for everything he does for us. Thank you for taking care of us. Thank you for your love for us."
Friends, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I'm trying to keep up with everyone's check-ins but if I haven't replied please understand I am juggling so much. Please continue to pray and just be the hands and feet of Jesus. Your overwhelming love is humbling to the core. We need you every day for like the next 2 mos, but especially in these next few days.
02/17/2018 Update at 11:00pm from Nicole:
Many have asked for updates and there aren't a whole lot besides Brian's current status is stable and they moved him from ICU to Ortho Trauma today, a very good sign. Ispoke to Brian's surgeon's assistant on the phone. The surgeon is still weighing and needs to speak to them about 2 different options: putting him in a Halo for 3 mos, or doing surgery. Obviously you know which one we would go for but there must be a reason there are still 2 options. The surgeon admits though that Halo has high possibility it would result in surgery anyway for being ineffective. His C1-2 break is large and occiputal ligaments severed. If they do surgery they will go in the back and pin and plate those together. However, for the lower breaks, they are complex AND anterior so they would have to then flip him over to his back and go in through the front laparoscopically, remove the disc material, and use bone to fuse all 3 of those vertebrae together. Then he would be on a neck brace to make sure everything stayed together while it healed. Considering the main arteries that run down your neck and that they have to go around the spinal cord to get to those lower ones, I will be honest, scares me half to death. The surgeon was army trauma and has been doing this for 20 years. I'm trying to get clarification so that this indecision doesnt go on too long. Brian is very doped up and grumpy. His throat is swollen prob bc of the anterior injuries. Constantly feeling like he can't breathe and he does stop breathing every couple minutes bc of sleep apnea. Have him on his CPAP now and he's resting better and pain level has gone down a bit. They did a CT of his head to make sure blood is flowing to his brain bc of the swelling and of his pelvis, all with satisfactory outcomes.
02/18/2018 UPDATE at 1:50pm from Nicole:
Okay here's the big update: Brian has a Jefferson burst of his C1, which is complicated. They won't know until surgery if his ligaments are still intact. His C2, which is like a peg that fits in your C1, is broken vertically. If he were to be put in a Halo his C1 and C2 could heal right and provide neck rotation in the future. However if it doesn't heal (which surgeon is very sure it won't) they will have to go in and do surgery again in 3 months anyway. That means a possible 6 months healing time of having a neck brace and contraptions on his head. That's a pretty miserable option. My chiros also pointed out that if the C1 and C2 do not heal *correctly* with the Halo as Brian ages that could affect his spinal cord which could turn into things like not being able to raise his arms and not being able to breathe. So the other option was total fusion which means that Brian would have absolutely no side to side rotation of his neck. I expressed my concern about that to the surgeon because Brian is so active and needs to be for a long time. Haha! He called me back a little later and said he's thought of another option that has a 50-50 chance of working. It is where they will put a screw horizontally through his C2, which has a vertical break, and hope that they will be able to do that. That would provide the best of both worlds- quicker recovery and rotation ability. The things working against Brian are that he is barrel-chested and his neck already has a bit of a deformity because of his previous injury. That's why it may not be possible. They will go in on Tuesday morning and attempt to put the screw in the C2 and if that doesn't work they will have to use fusion and plates for everything which will be a big adjustment for Brian and change a lot about his life, but it is better than being paralyzed or dead. He will have to wear a neck brace for 3 months 24 hrs/ day. We have been told that his surgeon is THE BEST guy in town and solves problems other guys can't solve. Brian has a very complicated case. Brian has been off of all pain medicine since about 2 this morning and is trying to get the codeine out of his system. He basically feels like he has too much in him right now and I think that's what is causing the swelling in his face throat and tongue. He was able to get up and stand today assisted and take about two steps to a chair and he sat there for about 1 hour awake. That's a pretty big change too. He is sleeping again and not in any pain. The boys are covered in love by the most wonderful people in our homeschool co-op and community. They're having a great time. Again, I'm very overwhelmed by everyone's love.
