Showing support for Eric Heeman

Aloha!

On January 17th, Eric and 5 friends were hiking out of Haleakala Crater on the Halemau'u trail. As our group was heading up the switch backs, Eric had a medical incident similar to a heat stroke which caused him to pass out and fell face first roughly over 100ft off the cliff. With the help of his friends who acted quickly due to Eric's lack of consciousness and loss of blood, he was extracted off the side of the cliff in under two hours. A huge thank you to Rescue 10 crew from Kahului who was on the fire department's Air One, as they lifted him out of the crater off the Halemau'u trail and flew him to Hosmer's grove where he was transported then by a second helicopter to Maui Memorial Hospital.

Once at the hospital, Eric was given 3 units of blood, 3 units of plasma to replenish what he had lost from the fall and was able to stabilize. He received multiple deep and jagged lacerations to the head resulting in 30 staples, a hematoma of one eye, 3 compression fractures in his back, a severely fractured ankle and as you can imagine many, many colorful bruises and cuts.

Eric spent the following seven days in the hospital trauma unit to monitor internal organs while undergoing multiple tests to check for what caused the fall. He had full body x-rays, full body CT scans, heart CT scans, heart MRI, full body MRI, brain CT scans, echo on the heart and multiple other extensive tests.

Now that Eric is released, he is required to wear a back brace for 6 weeks, an ankle stint for now with possible casting to come and a heart monitor for a month to ensure everything is working properly. Doctors are reassuring us the fall was due to heat, dehydration and altitude but are continuing to monitor his heart as a precaution.

Due to this tragic event, Eric will be out of work for 2 months minimum, and the compounding medical bills will be astronomical. The extent of the 100-foot fall and where he was found placed facedown in the dirt trails lower than where he was last seen standing make us believe Eric has a guardian angel watching over him. We as friends want to continue to lift him up with all the help we can as well.

Asking for help is hard. So, friends of Eric are asking to gather our Ohana and community together to help a fellow Lahaina resident who loves this island and the people on it. For those who know Eric and those who may not- he has an exuberant energy, always (even in a hospital bed) has a smile on, and will probably hit you with a cheesy Dad Joke behind the bar at Kimo's (even though they are not on the menu) and sets an example of aloha to others. He is a stand-up guy who could use some support and aloha in return during this time of need.

Any donations to help him throughout his recovery would be greatly appreciated and used towards medical bills, helicopter/transportation fees and paying rent while unable to work. Mahalo in advance family, friends and kind-hearted strangers.

-Friends of Eric