Sandra & Joe's medical fund
Donation protected
Sandra and Joe Nicholson have been through their fair share of hard times, but recent events have been extremely challenging for them both. This fund is set up to help with their expenses associated with their 4-wheeler accident that left them both with severe limb trauma. Thank God they have health insurance; however, as we all know there is still a deductable to be met. They will both need physical therapy and both of them will not be able to work for at least 3 months. With no household income and mounting expenses, we all can imagine what kind of stress that would be hanging over their heads. Our goal is to raise money to help with their regular expenses to ease some of their financial burden so they can concentrate on healing.
On the evening of September 13, 2015 they were riding their new 4-wheeler together in the Medicine Bow National Forest enjoying the second day of their scheduled week long family vacation camping when they collided with a large pick-up truck on a mountain road.
We thank God they are both alive, as fate intervened at multiple points to keep them both alive. Joe had just enough time to turn the 4-wheeler enough that they would not experience a head on collision, which could have likely killed them both. Joe's left arm was struck and both the radius and ulna were fractured. His left leg was crushed in between the steel grill guard and the 4-wheeler, and he was thrown up onto the hood partially (as his leg was still stuck he was not thrown off the 4-wheeler). Sandra was thrown off the 4-wheeler and flipped through the air to land in the middle of the road with an open fracture of her femur and patella (knee cap) along with a deep laceration to her ankle. The crushing injury to Joe's leg resulted in multiple complex fractures to his lower leg (tibia/fibula) which was also open.
Sandra's mother, Tina was following the pair on her 4-wheeler, and came upon the scene moments after it happened. She came upon her daughter in the middle of the road with a growing pool of blood from her leg, and had enough strength and bravery to use the tow strap in her 4-wheeler pack as a tunicate for Sandra's leg. The driver and passengers of the pick-up truck where already helping Joe to the ground next to the 4-wheeler. Though it ripped her heart in pieces to leave her youngest daughter laying on the gravel road bleeding with fear in her eyes, she knew they needed more help and jumped back onto her 4-wheeler and drove 3 minutes up the road to their camping spot where Sandra's sister, brother-in-law, and their 2 children and 2 family friends were screaming for help.
Everyone jumped into action jumping on 4-wheelers and throwing first aid kits into the truck and raced back to the scene of the accident.
As fate intervened again (or as we like to think our {Sandra and Chelsea’s} dad, and the other loved ones that have passed on from this life), a game warden was just down the road traveling in the direction of the accident and came upon the scene just as Tina went to get help. The game warden also happens to be a certified EMT and had his EMT bag and oxygen tank on his truck. He also had a satellite cell phone and was able to reach his dispatch to call for an ambulance. He was amazing and calmly assessed both Joe and Sandra, and compassionately cared for them both. By this time more bystanders arrived, and jumped in to help in any way they could. Pressure was applied to both of their bleeding wounds, blankets and coats were pulled out of vehicles and piled on them as they were going into shock. They oxygen tank was brought out for Sandra as she was going into shock. The game warden went back and forth between the two taking vital signs assessing for internal, head, neck, and spine injuries and running over to his truck to check on the status of the ambulance. The ambulance took 2 hours to arrive, 2 hours of them laying on the cold dirty gravel with open wounds going into shock. They were driven off the mountain and to Laramie hospital where they were stabilized, Sandra was given a unit of blood, and they were then flown to Cheyenne by flight for life.
The trauma team was prepped and ready to go in Cheyenne, and at 1:30 a.m. on Monday Sandra was the first to undergo surgery. During this first surgery her wounds were cleaned out and assessed. The surgeon spent almost 2 hours flushing the gravel and dirt out of her wounds and then placed external pins for some stabilization. Her femur fracture was not repaired at that time due to the amount of wound contamination. As her surgery was finished at 4 a.m. Joe was wheeled in at 5 a.m. His surgery was similar in that his open fracture to his leg was flushed and washed and the gravel imbedded into the bones was cleaned off and scraped away. The surgeon also used external stabilization for Joe’s leg. The surgeon also said he does not see this severe of a trauma to the leg often, and that he will have a limp, and will most likely need a knee replacement in a few years. A hard thing to think about for someone that is only 32 years old. His arm was splinted for more stabilization during the surgery so it could be repaired in a future surgery.
On Wednesday, September 16th, they both had their second wash out surgeries and Sandra had more external stabilization added to her femur. Because Sandra’s surgery was in the evening, she had a rough night with pain control. The Dr. stresses to us all that due to the nature of the accident, having gravel in their open fractures, and the length of time that passed before they were able to undergo their first surgeries, they are at a high risk of infection for some time to come. The plan is for Joe’s arm to be fixed on Friday September 18th, and then Sandra’s femur will be surgically fixed along with her patella after his surgery. She may still need to consult with a plastic surgeon for skin grafting in the future, but barring any setbacks, she should not need any more orthopedic surgeries. Joe’s leg is not going to be fixed until next Wed. at the earliest, however, if there is still significant swelling, the leg repair may be postponed another week.
On the evening of September 13, 2015 they were riding their new 4-wheeler together in the Medicine Bow National Forest enjoying the second day of their scheduled week long family vacation camping when they collided with a large pick-up truck on a mountain road.
We thank God they are both alive, as fate intervened at multiple points to keep them both alive. Joe had just enough time to turn the 4-wheeler enough that they would not experience a head on collision, which could have likely killed them both. Joe's left arm was struck and both the radius and ulna were fractured. His left leg was crushed in between the steel grill guard and the 4-wheeler, and he was thrown up onto the hood partially (as his leg was still stuck he was not thrown off the 4-wheeler). Sandra was thrown off the 4-wheeler and flipped through the air to land in the middle of the road with an open fracture of her femur and patella (knee cap) along with a deep laceration to her ankle. The crushing injury to Joe's leg resulted in multiple complex fractures to his lower leg (tibia/fibula) which was also open.
Sandra's mother, Tina was following the pair on her 4-wheeler, and came upon the scene moments after it happened. She came upon her daughter in the middle of the road with a growing pool of blood from her leg, and had enough strength and bravery to use the tow strap in her 4-wheeler pack as a tunicate for Sandra's leg. The driver and passengers of the pick-up truck where already helping Joe to the ground next to the 4-wheeler. Though it ripped her heart in pieces to leave her youngest daughter laying on the gravel road bleeding with fear in her eyes, she knew they needed more help and jumped back onto her 4-wheeler and drove 3 minutes up the road to their camping spot where Sandra's sister, brother-in-law, and their 2 children and 2 family friends were screaming for help.
Everyone jumped into action jumping on 4-wheelers and throwing first aid kits into the truck and raced back to the scene of the accident.
As fate intervened again (or as we like to think our {Sandra and Chelsea’s} dad, and the other loved ones that have passed on from this life), a game warden was just down the road traveling in the direction of the accident and came upon the scene just as Tina went to get help. The game warden also happens to be a certified EMT and had his EMT bag and oxygen tank on his truck. He also had a satellite cell phone and was able to reach his dispatch to call for an ambulance. He was amazing and calmly assessed both Joe and Sandra, and compassionately cared for them both. By this time more bystanders arrived, and jumped in to help in any way they could. Pressure was applied to both of their bleeding wounds, blankets and coats were pulled out of vehicles and piled on them as they were going into shock. They oxygen tank was brought out for Sandra as she was going into shock. The game warden went back and forth between the two taking vital signs assessing for internal, head, neck, and spine injuries and running over to his truck to check on the status of the ambulance. The ambulance took 2 hours to arrive, 2 hours of them laying on the cold dirty gravel with open wounds going into shock. They were driven off the mountain and to Laramie hospital where they were stabilized, Sandra was given a unit of blood, and they were then flown to Cheyenne by flight for life.
The trauma team was prepped and ready to go in Cheyenne, and at 1:30 a.m. on Monday Sandra was the first to undergo surgery. During this first surgery her wounds were cleaned out and assessed. The surgeon spent almost 2 hours flushing the gravel and dirt out of her wounds and then placed external pins for some stabilization. Her femur fracture was not repaired at that time due to the amount of wound contamination. As her surgery was finished at 4 a.m. Joe was wheeled in at 5 a.m. His surgery was similar in that his open fracture to his leg was flushed and washed and the gravel imbedded into the bones was cleaned off and scraped away. The surgeon also used external stabilization for Joe’s leg. The surgeon also said he does not see this severe of a trauma to the leg often, and that he will have a limp, and will most likely need a knee replacement in a few years. A hard thing to think about for someone that is only 32 years old. His arm was splinted for more stabilization during the surgery so it could be repaired in a future surgery.
On Wednesday, September 16th, they both had their second wash out surgeries and Sandra had more external stabilization added to her femur. Because Sandra’s surgery was in the evening, she had a rough night with pain control. The Dr. stresses to us all that due to the nature of the accident, having gravel in their open fractures, and the length of time that passed before they were able to undergo their first surgeries, they are at a high risk of infection for some time to come. The plan is for Joe’s arm to be fixed on Friday September 18th, and then Sandra’s femur will be surgically fixed along with her patella after his surgery. She may still need to consult with a plastic surgeon for skin grafting in the future, but barring any setbacks, she should not need any more orthopedic surgeries. Joe’s leg is not going to be fixed until next Wed. at the earliest, however, if there is still significant swelling, the leg repair may be postponed another week.
Organizer
Chelsea Ingersoll Croghan
Organizer
Cheyenne, WY