Cris Orkiz Emergency Suport Fund

On the late evening of February 10th, Petty Officer First Class, Cris Orkiz was on his way home from his duty station in Victorville, CA, where he currently serves as a Navy Recruiter. It was a late-night like any other work night, but this night his small commuter car collided with a semi-truck at approximately 8:19pm at the intersection of the Highway 58 and California City Blvd. As his wife Cheralyn was putting their 2-year-old to bed, she missed a call from Cris’ phone 1 second too late. After a few minutes, Cris’ Mom called Cher and at that time she found out that he was in an accident, in which the first responder team had to cut Cris out of his car, followed by being immediately life-flighted to Antelope Valley Trauma Center in Lancaster.

Cher was waiting around for phone calls and in the meantime praying with a Pastor and friends for a miracle. Within minutes of their pleads to God, her phone rang and it was the hospital. She heard from the staff that he had multiple fractures from pelvis to his right foot and that muscles in those areas were pulled off the bone. His scans revealed that his spine and brain were unharmed (thank you GOD) and that he was also coherent and talking. They said he had some free fluid in his abdomen and they needed to do an emergency exploratory surgery to find where the fluid was coming from and examine the inside. Cher was able to expedite a process that enabled Cris’ parents to see him when they arrived at the hospital. Cris was briefly given his moms phone to talk to his love. In a very special moment, they finally talked and Cher consoled him as he told her how much he loved them all while being wheeled off to surgery.

Around 3am Friday, the staff called back to report he had just come out of his surgery and they had found that his intestines and colon were perforated and the fluid was from them & bleeding from the torn muscles. Given the severity of that, they decided to leave his abdomen open with a sterile dressing on it, to monitor the fluid and also to be able to go back in without making another incision. At 8am Friday, Cher got another phone call reporting that they had to sedate and intubate him because he was confused and trying to move while pulling at all his wires & IV lines, so they did this for his safety. They also told Cher that he would have his first orthopedic surgery later that morning, of many to come. At 8pm Friday, he was scheduled for his second surgery, this time with the pelvic surgeon in which they will try to repair with plates and screws, which would be about 3 hours minimum and they planned to keep him intubated and sedated over night to give his body time to heal. They have been waking him up every so often and having him write on a board what his pain level is and to communicate his needs. His right foot won’t be repaired until the swelling has gone down. Cher spoke with his anesthesiologist today also, and she was encouraged to hear them say how they were former Navy and told her, “We are sure to take care of our own.”

Cher has been very busy and, has had many phone calls all day Friday. Her Mom drove from Arizona on Friday to help her at home. The CHP hasn’t been able to give her any information, other than the semi turned in front of him. The CHP report should be done by next week. She has also been talking to his Naval Commanders and co-workers from all over the West Coast region, some of who have been in tears expressing their love and respect for Cris. She is very thankful for all of the supportive calls and texts. She is also extremely grateful to the informative and supportive staff at the hospital, whom have been explaining procedures to her before they happen so she is aware of what is happening. The road to recovery will be very long and trying on the whole family. Cris will need multiple surgeries and his recovery could be a year or even years. Cris’ car remains in a state that is unrecognizable, and he should not have lived. Only through God, has he survived this. The representative from the tow company didn’t think the driver lived, and was surprised and relieved to hear otherwise.

Cris is a devoted Father, husband and provider to his family of 6 residing in Stallion Springs, CA. Their children range in age from 2 to 15 years old. This will change their lives dramatically, and the more support they can get, will bless them during these trying times. Cris’ current post is his 6th duty station and his 16th year in the Navy will be in April. Cris was excited for his future, as he just re-enlisted for another 5 years and his next duty station placement was set to be on a ship in San Diego. Cris has served onboard the aircraft carriers, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS George Washington. He also served on shore duty in San Clemente and as a naval recruiter for almost 3 years in Victorville. The Orkiz family has lived in Everett, WA as well as Bremerton, WA and also San Diego for his orders before purchasing a home of their own a small mountain community. We don’t want them to worry for one second about any financial strain on their family. We would love to bless them enough so that anything they need above and beyond is afforded, including special equipment/caretakers for Cris to help once he begins rehabilitation & this journey in what they've been told is bound to be a long & painful process. In addition to this fundraiser, there will be a special Meal Train made with special dietary restrictions for their family, as 2 of the 4 children have flax seed, tree nut & peanut allergies. Updates will be posted on here, as well as Facebook. As you may suspect, it is overwhelming for Cher to respond to every message or call she receives, so please don’t take offense to it if she can’t get back to you. Please keep this beautiful family in your prayers from now until forever. This road will be long and they need friends and family now more than ever.

https://mealtrain.com/z2lgk6 Meal Train to help bless this family