Support for Eric Iler

The Accident
On Thursday, August 8th, 2019, Eric Iler was in a terrible car wreck . He was hit from the side while driving through an intersection causing the van to slide sideways towards the ditch and then to roll once before coming to rest in the ditch. It took them approximately 25 minutes to get him out of the van. He was sent to Faith Regional Hospital in Norfolk (an hour away from his home and family) where they stabilized him and made the decision to life-flight him to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha (a 2 ½ hour drive from his home and family) due to the severity of his injuries which were, and are, extensive.

He has two fractured vertebrae in the neck, one of which twisted enough to bruise the spinal cord causing substantial swelling. It is because of this bruising and swelling of the spinal cord that he is currently paralyzed to a large extent. He had been only being able to barely feel doctors/nurses touching his feet, legs, arms, and hands but not able to move anything. He also had a fractured cheek bone, broken ribs, contusions on the lungs, suffered a mini stroke due to a damaged blood vessel in the neck (which has since stopped bleeding but remains weak), a bruised tailbone, swelling, along with minor cuts and bruises. The very afternoon that he had arrived at UNMC they did surgery on the two vertebrae in his neck to stabilize them by fusing three together in order to release pressure on the spinal cord and to prevent further damage. And a tube for drainage was put in beside his right lung to remove built up fluid and air, and make it easier for him to breathe.

Physical therapy was started as soon as possible with just the simplest tasks. Progression was small – the wiggling of toes, the movement of his feet, the ability to raise the right leg a bit, slight movement with the index finger and thumb of his right hand to the ability to slightly close that hand, and sitting the bed up to work on getting him used to being upright again. A feeding tube had been a necessity so that his nutrition level could be maintained and a urethral catheter put in due to the paralysis. He remained in the hospital until he was able to be released to a rehab center to continue his care.

On Thursday, August 22nd, 2019, Eric took the next step in his recovery when they moved him to Immanuel Rehab in Omaha, just 14 days after the accident. There he receives not just the everyday care he needs but also 3 hours of physical therapy broken up throughout the day and up to 6 hours of sitting upright in a chair every day. He gets the emotional and physical support he needs to push himself to try every day to reach the goal of regaining the most mobility that he can while striving for full mobility. A long road is ahead for Eric. It will be a rigorous 30-60 days of inpatient therapy and care. And after that it will be 10-11 months of outpatient therapy. Many things will have to be adapted and changed in and around the house to make it wheel chair/handicap accessible.

About the Family
Eric Iler moved from Minnesota to Nebraska around 7 years ago when he married his wife Jennifer and became a dad to her then 6 year old daughter, Mandie. About a year later, they had a baby girl, Abby, making them a family of four. Parenting is not easy but Eric never backed down, and stayed the course being the provider for his family by working on the family farm with Jennifer’s dad. He learned to farm the different kind of soil here and the necessity of pivot irrigation which was new to him.

About a year ago, Eric’s father-in-law started having problems with his heart and could no longer help work the farm leaving the management and sole responsibility upon Eric’s shoulders for not just one but two households. Around the same time, Jennifer was experiencing an at-risk pregnancy; ultrasounds showing their child had an omphalocele (defect where the intestines/other abdominal organs are outside the body because of a hole in the belly button area). Despite the possible dangers and risks, they had a safe delivery and a new baby boy, Alec, who was required to spend the first week in the NICU, due to low blood sugar levels, and to stabilize the omphalocele, before coming home. Soon after, Alec was diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome via genetic testing, which is an overgrowth syndrome where omphaloceles are common and a predisposition to several cancerous tumors. Continual screenings throughout his childhood will be a
necessity.

Eric strived to manage the farm by himself and to support his wife, often running himself into the ground physically and mentally. But within the last three weeks the Iler family has been hit hard starting with Eric’s wreck. Jennifer has found herself being the one holding everything together. She was there for Eric from the start, (with a friend's help) making the hour drive to Norfolk to the ER, back home to comfort their girls and then the 2 ½ hour drive to Omaha to stay with him when it was critical. She has been back and forth trying to work things out- the farm, the girls, the finances, etc. She even had to manage their son’s surgery (the closure of his omphalocele) alone since Eric was incapacitated. Now that he is in the rehab center, she can turn her focus on the farm, being the support that their girls need and caring for their 7 month old son. But to add to the struggle, Jennifer’s father ended up in the hospital due to his heart problems on Saturday, August 17th, 2019, a little over a week after Eric’s accident. Her father has remained in the hospital since and her mother by his side. The stress and worry on both Eric and Jennifer’s part is immense- Eric because he can’t do anything to help beyond working on himself, and Jennifer because she is limited and strung out in different directions.

How to Help
Already they have received an outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and neighbors. We want the Iler family to remember that they are not alone. We want to ease their burdens so that they can take it one day at a time and focus on Eric’s rehab and making the necessary preparations on the home-front in anticipation of his return home. Any contribution no matter how small will help and be very much appreciated. All monetary contributions will be going towards Eric’s hospital bills (2 ambulance rides, helicopter, hospital, etc) over and above what they are covered for and his physical rehabilitation costs. It will be 30-60 days inpatient at approximately $1000/day and then the 10-11 months of outpatient to follow. Also to help cover other out of pocket expenses for any home care costs or special needs due to his disability (ex: wheelchair, wheelchair accessibility adjustments to the home, etc).

Even if you are unable to contribute monetarily, or in any other way, we would like to ask you to please continue to keep your thoughts and prayers with Eric and his family during this difficult time.

Current Updates Tuesday, August 27, 2019, Eric had a small procedure done this morning. They took the urethral catheter out due to a UTI and put in a suprapubic catheter. It is a tube inserted into the tummy, a few inches below the navel with only a local anaesthetic or light general anaesthetic. This will be more comfortable and less likely to cause an infection. The procedure went very well for Eric. He is making progress in regaining strength in his legs and can now raise them. Even though he has trouble sitting upright too long, he is slowly gaining ground there as well. He can now close his right hand and is able to contract his biceps and triceps on that arm also. His left arm he cannot move still; says it feels like an unfeeling lump. But he can get his fingers of his left hand to twitch so there is hope.

And in regards to Jennifer’s father, this morning he went in for a four way bypass surgery. The doctor was able to only do a one way bypass because his blood kept oozing too badly. They found that he does have some kind of leukemia. Treatment for this has not been discussed yet. He is recovering from the bypass surgery now.