Matthew Morris recovering from lineman accident
***New update 1/24/2019*** Please click on the updates tab to read all the details. Matthew is finally awake and has the sedation meds turned off. He has been switched over to a tracheostomy and is doing most of the breathing on his own. He will be remaining in the same hospital in Houston for 3-6+ months before they are able to close his abdomen from surgery.
This is my brother Matthew Morris. Last summer, he graduated training to be a lineman. Since then, he's worked in 5 different states, including his home state of Texas, restoring power after storms. He's sent us videos from his hotel room of the hurricane coming in just hours after they got in town. These guys come in when the citizens are being evacuated, so that once the storm has passed they are already there and can get started working. He is quite frankly obsessed with his job, because he LOVES being a lineman. He is rightfully proud of himself and this career he's found. It's hard work and not just anyone can handle it.
On Wednesday, January 9, 2019, Matt was working on a job when something happened (we're not sure what just yet) that caused a flash over in front of him. Because I don't understand the technical terms of his work I'll say it simply: basically some electricity blew up in front of him causing a burst of fire right in front of his face. We got a phone call without any details that he was working and got hurt, it was bad, and they were flying him to a burn center. We were already at church for the evening so we called on our family to pray - the only thing we could do from so far away. By the end of service, Nick had been on the phone with all different people trying to find out Matt's condition and deciding if we needed to get in the car and start driving or not. The guys he was working with used Matt's phone to text his wife, Mandy, saying that he had been hurt, that they were putting a burn blanket on him, and that they had called for an ambulance. The medic that responded to the call used his phone to get in contact with Mandy also to get his personal info and to tell her that they decided to fly him out to the trauma center. Closest center with a burn unit is in Houston, a 2-hour drive. That's about all we knew for a while - they flew him from the scene but Mandy had to drive the 2 hours to get to him. We finally found out that our worst fears were not the case - he wasn't electrocuted and he wasn't dead. The physician who saw him initially that night told us he was going to be just fine; that he thought he would be in the hospital for a few days and they would try to extubate him as soon as possible. Matt has second degree burns on his face, ears, neck and chest. Thankfully, there was no obvious deformity or loss of function in his eyes, ears, or elsewhere. We were relieved and thanked God for an answer to prayer already.
Since then, he's still intubated, 3 days later. His face swelled and so out of fear of his airway swelling, they have left him intubated, both to protect his airway and to let his body rest and try to heal. Unfortunately, last night as they laid him flat to take a CT scan, he began to cough, and it was soon discovered that his lungs have filled with fluid and he now has pneumonia. We thought he would be home sometime this weekend, but that will not be the case. This picture is from Friday (1/11/19).
Matthew has a long way to go as far as recovery. He's still in a pretty vulnerable condition right now. He will be out of work for a considerable amount of time. Even after he recovers, he won't be able to be out in the hot sun with tender, new skin on his face and neck. He loves being a lineman, and I really hope this doesn't force a career change for him. In the mean time, his wife Mandy hasn't left his side. However, this means she is unable to work. It would be senseless for her to be making a 4-hour commute and work and try to be there for Matthew and to see the doctors. If we could find a silver-lining to this awful situation, it's that this will be covered under workman's comp... but that doesn't make up for Mandy's lost wages, and doesn't pay a full salary that Matt's missing. His company graciously put Mandy up in a hotel for a few nights close to the hospital, but he's still there so they are going to be left paying for several nights. 
All this to say, so many have reached out to us asking what you could do to help, and this is it. Matthew is going to need our financial support while he heals. He needs to be able to focus on recuperating, and Mandy needs to be able to focus on him, not stressed over missing bills, losing their vehicles or house, etc. So, if you'd like to help, please consider donating this way. This money is going straight to Matthew and Mandy to help them cover what they need to during this time. If you can't donate, you can still pray. We believe and know that God hears and answers our prayers. Please pray that his lungs will clear, that his skin will heal, that no infection will set in, that he can return to the job he loves without emotional scarring, and that their faith will be made stronger through this hardship. Thank you for taking the time to read through this. We will update it as appropriate so everyone can follow his progress. God bless. 
