My name is Heather Fitzpatrick, I am Ken Barkley's niece I am writing this on behalf of Ken's family.
Ken Barkley was in a motorcycle accident on May 26th, 2016. The accident was not called in to 911 but he was found by his fellow fire fighters, who were coming from a call, on the side of the road 50 feet from his bike not breathing and without a heartbeat. He was revived after 7 minutes of CPR from first responders and he was airlifted to Providence Hospital in Anchorage, AK. He was in the ICU fighting for his life for 5 days undergoing monitoring for severe brain swelling, he is now on a orthopaedic physical therapy floor where we will begin the process of rehab, with hopes to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, he suffered what is called a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from impact as well as the lack of oxygen to his brain while he was without a pulse, among many other injuries. He has several broken ribs, several fractured vertebrae in his neck, a broken fibula, a shattered humerous head, a dislocated elbow, and a possible pinched nerve in his shoulder. He is awake, and talking with family and he is able to recognize his family although he does not remember or comprehend much. As for speech, motor, cognitive functioning he is very basic in those skills depending on nurses and family for everything. All of those breaks and fractures will heal in time, but with a TBI there is no guarantee he will ever be able to be completely independent again. He will need to relearn how to do all the basic daily skills. This is the reason why were are setting up this fund, Ken will not recieve any disability except for the three weeks of paid time off he has saved up. We are hoping to raise money to help with the costs of his medical bills, finances, and anything else that he or the family may need in this very long rehab process. As many of you know his family is spread out among the US and this is a very tough time for all of them.
We are hoping he will be moved to a rehab facility within the next week. Doctors are saying he could be in rehab for occupational therapy for a year before being able to return home with or without supervision by family. So, please also understand the updates on his condition may be slow since we will have good days and bad days.
Any donation is greatly appreciated, if you are from the Mat Su Burough and would like to donate paid time off to Deputy Director Ken Barkley that would also be greatly appreciated.
Infomation about Traumatic Brain Injuries is listed below so that everyone can better understand how slow of a process his rehab could be.
http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/
http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/treatments-for-tbi/rehabilitative-center-treatment/
A couple brief examples of what Ken could experience:
Poor memory
Poor attention and concentration
Poor decision-making
Impulsivity
Disorientation
Language and communication abilities
Inability to speak
Inability to understand when spoken to
Ken Barkley was in a motorcycle accident on May 26th, 2016. The accident was not called in to 911 but he was found by his fellow fire fighters, who were coming from a call, on the side of the road 50 feet from his bike not breathing and without a heartbeat. He was revived after 7 minutes of CPR from first responders and he was airlifted to Providence Hospital in Anchorage, AK. He was in the ICU fighting for his life for 5 days undergoing monitoring for severe brain swelling, he is now on a orthopaedic physical therapy floor where we will begin the process of rehab, with hopes to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, he suffered what is called a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from impact as well as the lack of oxygen to his brain while he was without a pulse, among many other injuries. He has several broken ribs, several fractured vertebrae in his neck, a broken fibula, a shattered humerous head, a dislocated elbow, and a possible pinched nerve in his shoulder. He is awake, and talking with family and he is able to recognize his family although he does not remember or comprehend much. As for speech, motor, cognitive functioning he is very basic in those skills depending on nurses and family for everything. All of those breaks and fractures will heal in time, but with a TBI there is no guarantee he will ever be able to be completely independent again. He will need to relearn how to do all the basic daily skills. This is the reason why were are setting up this fund, Ken will not recieve any disability except for the three weeks of paid time off he has saved up. We are hoping to raise money to help with the costs of his medical bills, finances, and anything else that he or the family may need in this very long rehab process. As many of you know his family is spread out among the US and this is a very tough time for all of them.
We are hoping he will be moved to a rehab facility within the next week. Doctors are saying he could be in rehab for occupational therapy for a year before being able to return home with or without supervision by family. So, please also understand the updates on his condition may be slow since we will have good days and bad days.
Any donation is greatly appreciated, if you are from the Mat Su Burough and would like to donate paid time off to Deputy Director Ken Barkley that would also be greatly appreciated.
Infomation about Traumatic Brain Injuries is listed below so that everyone can better understand how slow of a process his rehab could be.
http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/
http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/treatments-for-tbi/rehabilitative-center-treatment/
A couple brief examples of what Ken could experience:
Poor memory
Poor attention and concentration
Poor decision-making
Impulsivity
Disorientation
Language and communication abilities
Inability to speak
Inability to understand when spoken to
Organiser and beneficiary
Ken Barkley
Beneficiary