Rileys Recovery Fund

Most of you know Riley and what an amazing young man he is and is still becoming! He's dedicated and deeply loyal to his family and a very hard worker. Recently he moved to Montana and last Tuesday began a job at the Moyie Springs Logging Mill. In one week he has already won the hearts and respect of his employer, boss and men he works with at the Mill. He was under the supervision and instruction of his trainer Tuesday morning when two large logs go crossed and needed to be straightened out. So with the instruction of his trainer he was told what to do, which included procedure and safety prodicals. He exited the crane he works in and climbed out onto a platform and with a very long stick with a hook at the end he was to lean out and use it to separate the two logs. Per procedure and safety standards, no harness is needed, for whatever reason (that may be changing). When he did this a "clip" broke (equipment failure) and he fell backwards head first about 20 feet and landed on asphalt. He landed on his head and right shoulder. He had a large laceration to his head that of course bled like crazy, he also had blood coming from his ear. They immediately called 911 and he was Flight for Life'd to a hospital in Ceour d'Alene Idaho. To be honest the paramedics on that flight didn't think he would make it. But he's a tough guy and his vitals stayed stable during the flight. Within minutes he was being rushed into the Emergency Department of the Kootenai Medical Center trauma unit! They began scans, X-rays, bloodwork, EKG's ... you name it! Great hospital!! It was discovered that he has a 3 inch laceration on his head that required 7 staples, bleeding from his ear is because he has a subarachnoid hemorrhage. That is the bottom of 3 thin layers that cover the brain and line the inside of the skull. He also has a basal skull fracture (right side behind his right ear, that knobby part of the skull). So now he's being treated for a Traumatic Brain Injury, but continues to do well with his neurological tests! Thank God!! He also dislocated his left index finger, fractured his sternum on the right side where the ribs meet the sternum and he broke his right clavicle (collar bone) in 3! places!! Initially he was not breathing well and needed to be intubated (on a breathing tube). They place him in a cervical collar to protect this head and neck and to keep his head straight for breathing purposes and to avoid him possibly aspirating since he is not conscious. It's now been 2 days and they have removed the breathing tube and C-collar and he's even off oxygen but still has not fully regained consciousness. He is responsive to verbal cues and continues to pass his neurological tests! He shouldn't have any long term brain problems but may have lost his hearing in his right ear (or some of it), time will tell. Tomorrow, Friday morning at 7:30am Idaho time he will be going in for surgery on his shoulder to fix his clavicle with pins and rods. As the family waits as patiently as possible for him to regain full consciousness and to hopefully begin talking again, many of us have driven out to the hospital which is 2+ hours from Ron and Sue's home in Troy Montana. Family from Troy, Libby and Colorado have dropped everything to be with him. We would like to ask for your prayers for our Riley and if you can help us put together a modest fund to cover travel costs for the family and to put together some money for Riley when he begins to recover that would just be amazing! If not, we completely understand and your thoughts and prayers will be enough! God bless you!! This is a work place accident and his medical costs will be covered by the companies worker's comp insurance but many of us have taken time off work and school and traveled to be here and could really use the help so that we can continue to stay by his side for as long as possible. We know times are tough and do not want you to do anything that would cause you or your family strain, but we have been asked by many of you if you can help in some way and if we need money and the answer, sadly, is yes!! Come back to this page for continued updates as we are swamped with calls from family, doctors, nurses, speech therapists, orthopedic surgeons and other hospital staff. We will continue to update this page as things happen and as he goes through the recovery process. We thank God he is alive and that we have friends and family like all of you to support him and us through these terrifying times!! Thank you for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers! The Donahue, Adams and Mader families