On January 24, 2025, Eric was working outside on a second-story deck, where he was on a ladder and somehow lost his footing, resulting in him falling to concrete. The EMTs who arrived onsite estimated his head height impact to be between 18’-20’.

The fall resulted in the following injuries:

The first terrifying 10 days, Eric stayed in a medical coma in the ICU at Maine Medical Center. He had to be intubated on his second day and have two chest tubes inserted. In true Hoss fashion, he self-extubated, thankfully not resulting in any further damage or injuring himself more. After that, he consistently and finally opened his eyes for the first time in nine days. Both chest tubes were removed on February 2nd and then February 3rd. He was then moved to a step-down unit from the ICU.

As of today, February 28th, 2025, Eric remains at Maine Medical Center with his current areas of recovery being assistance with the traumatic brain injury. He began being able to stand during the week of the 17th and is working on strengthening his mobility. He will need strong focus with a speech-language pathologist and an occupational therapist to assist in the brain injury recovery as his lack of coordination is stemming primarily from the brain injury.

His memory is, thankfully, consistent for long term. Short-term memory (incidents within the last five years) has shown some improvement, but at this point, they believe it will be a minimum of a year.

Currently, the discharge plan will be him returning to Michaela and Joey's, stepdaughter and son-in-law's, home with his two grandchildren for them to manage his required 24/7 supervision. They will require home health, occupational therapy visits, physical therapy visits, and speech-language pathologist visits. They will need to make their home handicap accessible by adding railings, safeguards, bathroom accessories, and moving rooms for him to be able to safely enter and move around the home.

We are hoping to raise money to assist in the medical bills to come. He is currently entering his sixth week in the hospital, will require ongoing care once he is discharged, and the home will need renovations for him to come home. We have no idea or indication at this time when or if he will have the capability to work again. His most recent physiatrist evaluation, February 28, indicated an estimate of a year.

To know Eric, Hoss, is to cheers a Miller with him and love him. If you are able to help with this beyond challenging time, it is greatly appreciated. If you are unable, a share of this would also mean the world.