Amy & Ward Recovery Fund

On Sunday, September 25 a car of 3 teenagers turned across K32 on to 158th street in front of my parents who were on their motorcycle headed down K32, without warning or hesitation (as seen by witness and capture on Lake Stop Security Camera). They were both thrown from their bike and sustained critical injuries, with my dad getting the worst of it. My Dad (Ward) Shattered his right ankle, compound fracture of lower leg bones (snapped in half and went through the skin), Shattered his pelvis (causing life threatening internal bleeding), multiple fractures of his hip socket, Fractured spine across 5 vertebrae, multiple broken ribs, broken toes, scalp was peeled back down to the skull, cuts across forehead, road rash and body bruising all over. As of Wednesday September 28th he has had 3 surgeries totalling over 16 hours to repair portions of these injuries with more surgeries needed. He has multiple rods inside and outside his body attempting to stabilize everything. He is not quite out of the woods (as of Thursday 9/29) and has a long, LONG, road to recovery, but is determined to fight to keep being the world's best grandpa (pop pop) to all his grandkids and to meet his newest granddaughter that is expected in just over a month.

Throughout the process he has only been concerned about his wife, my mom (Amy), with whom he has been with since they were 12 and 15 years old respectively. He has said his number one priority in life has always been to protector her and keep her safe. Well in the 0.2 seconds he had to react and respond he managed to do just that and to keep her as safe as possible given the situation. She has a broken leg bone, deep cuts down to the bone and into the joint on both her knee and her elbow (both of which required surgery to clean out and debris), trauma to her hip, bruising all over, and lots of road rash, but she has managed to already get out of bed and sit in a wheelchair to go visit him in his ICU room, where she just barely got out of herself.

My family is eternally grateful to all the witnesses that took action and respond immediately to save their lives: including, but not limited to, the woman who got my mom's phone to call and inform my sister about the accident and even gave my sister the shoes off her feet when she showed to the scene barefoot. The group of bikers that arrived soon after and shut down the road, especially the gentleman that held my dad's head flaps together slowing the bleeding and saving his life. And of course to the EMTs, Paramedics, trauma surgeons, and every one at KU medical that enabled me to speak to, hold, and kiss my parents again after driving to the hospital not knowing if I ever would get too do that again