Tuesday morning, March 17, around 11:15 a.m., Jon was going to start repairing a large pull-behind fold down harrow. While making adjustments to the hitch, the clamp that was holding it to the drawbar of the tractor was released, causing the hitch to slam upwards, smashing his head and face between the hitch and the quick attach three point on the tractor. Somehow managing to stay conscious and on his feet, with his left eye ruptured, most of his facial bones broken, and blood pouring, fellow employees helped him walk to the shop and sit down. 911 responders arrived in minutes and he was air lifted to Boise. He arrived at the hospital still conscious and talking, as well as he was able with a shattered jaw. They sedated and intubated him so they could assess the damage and get him ready for surgery. Friends quickly drove the family to Boise to be with him at the hospital. The nurses let them know soon that miraculously there didn’t appear to be any brain trauma. He was stable and they hoped to begin surgery around 7:00 p.m.

He went into surgery around 8:00 p.m. Surgery was in 4 stages. First stage was putting in a feeding tube, as his jaws would have to be wired shut. That took awhile, because of all the blood in his stomach. Stage two was a tracheostomy, as he couldn’t have a breathing tube in his mouth during surgery, or later with his jaws wired shut. Stage 3 was his eye. The eye surgeon repaired the top and bottom eyelids, but the rupture in the eyeball was too far to the back of the eye and he wasn’t able to get to it without causing more damage. He tried to pressurize the eyeball and seal off the area as best he could so the eyeball can try to heal and self seal. He likely will have limited to no vision in that eye. Stage 4 was the job of the facial reconstruction surgeon. Jon’s bottom jaw is broken in two places, so it’s held together with a plate. His top jaw is broken into four pieces and both cheek bones are broken. There are four plates holding that all together and connecting it back to the other part of his skull.His top and bottom jaw will be wired together for a minimum of six to eight weeks. His palate was split, so they put that back together. A couple teeth are broken and one was loose so that is wired back into place in hopes that it will harden back up. His nose was demolished. They put that back together the best they could. Part of one side was so fragmented they couldn’t do much, so he will have a slight depression there. Also there were some severe lacerations to stitch up, a large rip from his mouth across his cheek, and one from his top lip up through his nose to his left eye socket. There’s a split from the back of his head up over the top, the skin and soft layer over the skull layed open like he was scalped, they told us. Also smaller lacerations in his mouth. He was in surgery for about 8 hours.

Jon is facing a long, difficult recovery. We hope that insurance will cover the medical expenses, but he and his family will continue to have normal living expenses, with Jon unable to work for some time, and they are still paying on bills from his wife’s battle with leukemia a few years ago. Any amount you feel to share will be greatly appreciated, along with your prayers.