On November 27th, Art Thompson suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell off a ladder and fractured the right side of his skull, five ribs and his lower lumbar. 

He managed to crawl inside his house but was not discovered until November 29th.  He was transported to Billings Clinic Hospital where he spent a week in the ICU on a ventilator and was largely non-responsive.

When Art began to show signs of cognitive progress, he was taken off the ventilator and moved to the Ortho-Neurology floor where he remains today.  Because of Covid visitation restrictions, only the same one person can visit him in a day.  Art’s children, Aidan and Walker, have been alternating days, sitting bedside for the entire day, which has undoubtedly contributed to the progress he has made to date.

Although the pattern has been two steps forward one day and one step backwards the next, Art continues to show slow but steady progress that his neurosurgeon finds remarkable.  Art recognizes faces, is aware of his surroundings, is no longer on a feeding tube and can walk, with the aid of assistance, around the hospital floor.  It appears that he can read name tags and such.

Art knows that he is at the Billings Clinic but doesn’t know why. He does not remember falling off a ladder.  His responses to questions are confined to one word or hand gestures, like a thumbs up or down.  His speech is severely impaired.  Although his cognition continues to improve, it has a long way to go.  There appears to be some neurological damage to the right side of his face.


Art's Next Steps

The plan is to transport Art to St Luke’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Spokane, WA.  We are hoping within 7-10 days, barring setbacks.  There are no local rehab facilities that can adequately address Art’s needs.  Art’s rehab stay will be 3+ months.

We have set up this fundraising page in the hopes that YOU (his family, friend or co-worker) can help with out-of-pocket expenses that he will face. Specifically:

+$4,000+ to transport Art to Spokane via chartered flight as he cannot fly commercially.
+$1,000 quarterly insurance payments to keep existing coverage
+$5,000 for visiting family in Spokane
+$5,000 for Art’s miscellaneous expenses and bills at home

Any amount would be GREATLY appreciated.  We want to help the funny, witty, kind and one-of-a kind Artie on his road to recovery.

About This Fundraiser
This is organized by friends and family including Robyn Butler-Hall and Dennis Hall. If you would like to be involved, please contact one of them or send an email to helpteamthompson at gmail.com.