Car Accident Relief for Katrina Gustafson
Donation protected
On Sunday, July 26th after 2p.m., our mom Katrina Gustafson was in a semi/car motor vehicle accident near her home in Birchwood, WI. She had entered the intersection across from the American Legion when she was struck by a semi cab at the passenger side doors. Thanks to a first responder and a worker at the Legion, she was given emergency assistance and her boyfriend was notified within minutes. Her boyfriend Jess was able to contact us as they removed her from the vehicle and took her by ambulance to the Rice Lake Marshfield Medical Center ER.
Upon arrival in Rice Lake, she was taken for brain scans and x-rays. Her injuries included a skull fracture, bleeding in/around her brain, a 30% collapsed lung, 4-5 broken ribs, two facial fractures and general trauma to the neck and rest of body. There were no other broken bones or internal bleeding of the stomach or surrounding areas. A chest tube was placed into her right lung to release the air and any possible fluid. She was then flown by helicopter to the Mayo Luther Hospital CCU (critical care unit) in Eau Claire where more scans were taken upon arrival and again after 10p.m. She was able to stay conscious for close to 3 hours post accident which was a great sign for the extent of her injuries. Both scans showed a slight spread of bleeding on the left side of the brain, but nothing that called for concern. Day 2's scan showed a slight breakdown of blood in the brain which was fine and was ruled as a stable scan.
For about 5 days, she was extremely lethargic, unable to eat and could not stay awake for longer than a 2-3 minute conversation. She experienced short term amnesia during this time, unable to form memories surrounding anything 15+ minutes before the accident and 4-5 days after. She was assisted by speech, physical and occupational therapists multiple times a day and was using sit-to-stand lifts, then a walker with a boot and gait belt, to finally walking alone. Due to Covid restrictions, she was only allowed one visitor for her entire hospital stay at Mayo so I (Casey Swangim) was grateful to have been able to fill that spot.
Our mom spent 4 days in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) and 11 days on the Neuro, Peds, Trauma floor at Mayo Luther. She was then assessed by her therapists and Neurologist and needed an "extended" stay in a Rehabilitation facility. We were so thankful she was at that time able to sustain the amount of therapy per day that Sacred Heart (HSHS) in EC required on their brain rehab unit. She spent 8 days there doing extensive rehab daily and was released on August 18th to stay with family, as she was needing supervision throughout her days due to some cognitive difficulty caused by the accident. She is now doing outpatient "Speech Therapy" which has nothing to do with actual speech and everything to do with activities of daily living. Such things as managing medication and finances, and also improving short and long term memory so she can be cleared to be alone when needed as well as return to work. Alongside speech she is beginning Christian counseling. In the past week she has had an MRI and brain scan showing the swelling had gone down and the blood was fully absorbed. A scan of her spinal cord also cleared her to remove her neck brace. Praise the Lord!
At this time she has outstanding medical bills. Luckily, she has good medical insurance and a short term disability policy lasting 13 weeks. She is required to take the full 13 weeks off of work to finish outpatient speech and rest her mind/body. After her disability ends the beginning of October they will reassess work possibility and starting back half days.
This page is specifically set up to relieve some of the financial burden caused by the accident and help to pay medical bills as well as travel needs for future follow up appointments. If you choose to donate, we thank you so much and appreciate your generosity. Above all else, we're so grateful to still have our mom with us and can't thank you all enough for the constant prayers.
Upon arrival in Rice Lake, she was taken for brain scans and x-rays. Her injuries included a skull fracture, bleeding in/around her brain, a 30% collapsed lung, 4-5 broken ribs, two facial fractures and general trauma to the neck and rest of body. There were no other broken bones or internal bleeding of the stomach or surrounding areas. A chest tube was placed into her right lung to release the air and any possible fluid. She was then flown by helicopter to the Mayo Luther Hospital CCU (critical care unit) in Eau Claire where more scans were taken upon arrival and again after 10p.m. She was able to stay conscious for close to 3 hours post accident which was a great sign for the extent of her injuries. Both scans showed a slight spread of bleeding on the left side of the brain, but nothing that called for concern. Day 2's scan showed a slight breakdown of blood in the brain which was fine and was ruled as a stable scan.
For about 5 days, she was extremely lethargic, unable to eat and could not stay awake for longer than a 2-3 minute conversation. She experienced short term amnesia during this time, unable to form memories surrounding anything 15+ minutes before the accident and 4-5 days after. She was assisted by speech, physical and occupational therapists multiple times a day and was using sit-to-stand lifts, then a walker with a boot and gait belt, to finally walking alone. Due to Covid restrictions, she was only allowed one visitor for her entire hospital stay at Mayo so I (Casey Swangim) was grateful to have been able to fill that spot.
Our mom spent 4 days in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) and 11 days on the Neuro, Peds, Trauma floor at Mayo Luther. She was then assessed by her therapists and Neurologist and needed an "extended" stay in a Rehabilitation facility. We were so thankful she was at that time able to sustain the amount of therapy per day that Sacred Heart (HSHS) in EC required on their brain rehab unit. She spent 8 days there doing extensive rehab daily and was released on August 18th to stay with family, as she was needing supervision throughout her days due to some cognitive difficulty caused by the accident. She is now doing outpatient "Speech Therapy" which has nothing to do with actual speech and everything to do with activities of daily living. Such things as managing medication and finances, and also improving short and long term memory so she can be cleared to be alone when needed as well as return to work. Alongside speech she is beginning Christian counseling. In the past week she has had an MRI and brain scan showing the swelling had gone down and the blood was fully absorbed. A scan of her spinal cord also cleared her to remove her neck brace. Praise the Lord!
At this time she has outstanding medical bills. Luckily, she has good medical insurance and a short term disability policy lasting 13 weeks. She is required to take the full 13 weeks off of work to finish outpatient speech and rest her mind/body. After her disability ends the beginning of October they will reassess work possibility and starting back half days.
This page is specifically set up to relieve some of the financial burden caused by the accident and help to pay medical bills as well as travel needs for future follow up appointments. If you choose to donate, we thank you so much and appreciate your generosity. Above all else, we're so grateful to still have our mom with us and can't thank you all enough for the constant prayers.
Organizer
Casey Swangim
Organizer
Chetek, WI