Roy Johnson's Battle to Recovery without Sight
Donation protected
On December 26th, 2018, my father was found crushed underneath the floor joists of an old farmhouse that my husband and I had been tearing down for salvage wood. He was working alone at the house when the second story floor joists came crashing down. They landed directly across his face, pinning him to the ground where he was trapped for at least two hours before my sister found him. His face was completely crushed and it was a miracle he survived at all.
Rescue crews later arrived and worked until they got the beam lifted from his head. Unable to have ALS fly in due to weather conditions, the crews transported him by ambulance to Essentia. There we learned he had over 40 fractures in his face as well as completely shattered eye sockets, nose, and cheek bones. He also had skull fragments lodged in his brain, CSF leaks, and bleeding in his frontal lobe. The extreme swelling of his face and neck left him unrecognizable as he sat in Neuro ICU for almost a month, recovering from brain and total facial reconstructive surgery. Some bone fragments still remain in his brain to this day as they were deemed too dangerous to remove.
More surgeries will be needed. Along with the massive facial damage, he also split his hip ball joint in half, which had turned in the wrong direction and fractured his pelvis. Surgery was performed to pop the joint out and find the broken piece before screwing it back together; however, we are unsure if this is going to suffice. Doctors may need to perform a total hip replacement down the road.
Perhaps the most heart-wrenching aspect of all this is that my dad has lost his sight and may be permanently blind.
Dad has a lot of sisu. A number of years ago he recovered from alcoholism and completely turned his life around by devoting himself to God and spending more time with his family. He makes everyone around him laugh, including nurses in the ICU. His positive attitude lifts the spirits of those around him. Before the accident, he could often be found at church (or even at home) dancing and singing songs. Now my dad will be left with bills he will be unable to pay in addition to the trying emotions and uncertainty of life without sight.
We don’t really know how much this fundraiser will provide or even how much we really need. The future holds much uncertainty, and there are prior medical bills that have yet to be paid, so if you find it in your heart, please join us in helping my dad through his long and difficult recovery. Honestly, no amount is too small.
The money acquired through this fund-raising will be used for medical expenses, pending surgeries, rehabilitation, skilled nursing care, physical therapy, counseling, lost wages, minor renovations to the house, a wheelchair, new deck to meet safety requirements and support of family.
Thank you to everyone who has kept my Dad in their thoughts and prayers, we have already experienced so many miracles along his journey to recovery. Please keep uplifting him in prayer. God Bless.
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." - Exodus 14:14
Rescue crews later arrived and worked until they got the beam lifted from his head. Unable to have ALS fly in due to weather conditions, the crews transported him by ambulance to Essentia. There we learned he had over 40 fractures in his face as well as completely shattered eye sockets, nose, and cheek bones. He also had skull fragments lodged in his brain, CSF leaks, and bleeding in his frontal lobe. The extreme swelling of his face and neck left him unrecognizable as he sat in Neuro ICU for almost a month, recovering from brain and total facial reconstructive surgery. Some bone fragments still remain in his brain to this day as they were deemed too dangerous to remove.
More surgeries will be needed. Along with the massive facial damage, he also split his hip ball joint in half, which had turned in the wrong direction and fractured his pelvis. Surgery was performed to pop the joint out and find the broken piece before screwing it back together; however, we are unsure if this is going to suffice. Doctors may need to perform a total hip replacement down the road.
Perhaps the most heart-wrenching aspect of all this is that my dad has lost his sight and may be permanently blind.
Dad has a lot of sisu. A number of years ago he recovered from alcoholism and completely turned his life around by devoting himself to God and spending more time with his family. He makes everyone around him laugh, including nurses in the ICU. His positive attitude lifts the spirits of those around him. Before the accident, he could often be found at church (or even at home) dancing and singing songs. Now my dad will be left with bills he will be unable to pay in addition to the trying emotions and uncertainty of life without sight.
We don’t really know how much this fundraiser will provide or even how much we really need. The future holds much uncertainty, and there are prior medical bills that have yet to be paid, so if you find it in your heart, please join us in helping my dad through his long and difficult recovery. Honestly, no amount is too small.
The money acquired through this fund-raising will be used for medical expenses, pending surgeries, rehabilitation, skilled nursing care, physical therapy, counseling, lost wages, minor renovations to the house, a wheelchair, new deck to meet safety requirements and support of family.
Thank you to everyone who has kept my Dad in their thoughts and prayers, we have already experienced so many miracles along his journey to recovery. Please keep uplifting him in prayer. God Bless.
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." - Exodus 14:14
Co-organizers (2)
Calla Peterson
Organizer
Floodwood, MN
Susan Johnson
Beneficiary
Zach Johnson
Co-organizer