Day 10 - Friday

Day 10 - Friday: We continue to see Ian improve each day! He is eating and drinking more and he has a lot more energy. Yesterday I had to stop him from getting on the trampoline. He said, "But mom, I wasn't going to jump on it -- I was just going to sit on it!" Well I'd rather have him sitting on a chair!

Today Ian was finally allowed to have a shower. He hated it. He was sure the water would make his head bleed again, but it didn't, and it was nice to have his head clean. Afterward we put on an over-the-head shirt for the first time since the accident.

We went to an appointment with our Pediatrition. She had read all the reports about the injury and what they had done to him. She was shocked when she saw him. She told me she was not expecting him to be able to do everything he is doing. She told me this must be a case where he had a guardian angel over him. This is the only thing I've been told that makes any sense. She told me she didn't think he needs any physical or speech therapy and that we could very likely be looking forward to a full recovery.

Here are some a picture of him today. He is really looking great. (Now if only we could get some meat back on his bones!)

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have this child back. I feel I understand more of the story of the Prodigal Son. It is not about which son was more valuable to the father. It is about getting back what was lost. To get back a child that you thought you had lost brings immeasurable joy to a parent's heart! No wonder he was ready to kill the fatted calf! It is truly a reason to celebrate.
It really has been an amazing experience to feel the power of the many prayers in our behalf. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love from our family, friends and neighbors. Thank you all so much!

Tuesday

Day seven. One week since the accident. I look back I realize I have truly witnessed a miracle. So many simply incredible things have happened.

That he stayed conscious through the injury and afterward. So little actual brain injury occurred, and it didn't increase the next day though the doctors thought it would.

That the surgeons were able to so skillfully put his head back together. What the neuro-surgeons did is simply mind-boggling, and that the plastic surgeons were able to close up the side where a large area of the scalp had seemed to be gone.

That he has had little of the side effects they thought he would. They told me with a head injury like this he would be throwing up for weeks. He threw-up many times after the accident and before the surgery, but hasn't throw up since. Also they told me that he would be dizzy for a while, yet he only said he was dizzy once.

That he has had so very little pain. After the accident, he said his head didn't hurt. After surgery, still no pain. The doctors/nurses said it was pretty standard that he would have a headache for two months, yet he has never had much of a headache at all. During this whole thing, the only pain medication he was given that I'm aware of is a dose of Morphine before surgery (but mostly because he was getting so irritated about the neck brace and couldn't relax), and three doses of Tylenol while in the hospital. He has had no pain or medicine since we have been home (though he has had a lot of itching!).

That he is healing so very quickly. Each day he improves. Today he was better than yesterday.

I took these photos of him this evening:

He was chewing gum and I told him I didn't want to see the gum in the picture so he kept putting his mouth funny and not smiling.

But I caught this one of him smiling in the car:
He's happy. He's healing. We are so blessed.

I feel so grateful to our Heavenly Father, for the power of the Priesthood, and for the power of faith and prayers. I feel absolutely indebted to all of our many many family members and friends who have fasted and prayed and pleaded with our Heavenly Father to open the windows of heaven and shower down the blessings of health and healing on my son and our family. Indeed these prayers have been heard.

We have been surrounded with love from our family, friends and neighbors. We've been given so many cards, meals, gifts, phone calls, visits -- loving service from some of these very people whose prayers have already blessed us in a way that I don't know how to ever repay, or express enough thanks for my gratitude.

Monday

Getting Ian to drink plenty of fluids is difficult. I worked hard on this all day, pleading with him almost constantly to take another sip of drink. I thought I was doing a pretty good job, but by noon today it was obvious I was failing because Ian had not urinated since last night at 11:00 PM. He also had a mild fever (99.5) and I could see it in his drooping eyes. He said he felt well, and was awake all morning, but still I wondered if it was time to take him back to the hospital. Albert said to wait a little longer and if there was still no urine, we would take him back later this afternoon. I was frustrated because he was tired and I wanted him to take a nap, but if he was asleep, he would not be sipping any more fluids. I prayed the urine would come as I made him try to go to the bathroom before I laid him down for nap. Nothing. He went to sleep. I was really getting worried. The baby has been screaming and screaming at me all day (almost as if he's trying to punish me for leaving him and disrupting his schedule). When I'd go into the room with Ian, the baby would follow, screaming as loud as ever, yet Ian did not wake up or even stir. Finally I got the baby asleep and the house was quiet. About 1:30 Ian awoke suddenly and said he had to go to the bathroom! It was a good one and I was relieved! We have always jokingly called Ian our camel because the boy can save it up for a long time and has never wet the bed or had accidents since potty training. He went to the bathroom again before bed tonight.

I've been trying everything I can think of to get Ian to drink more fluids. I almost even put his drink in a sippy cup because he always thinks it's so fun to sneak drinks from the baby's cup, but then I decided letting my 6-year-old get attached to a sippy cup again was not a smart idea, so I didn't. I thought about putting water in a water gun because he loves to squirt water in his mouth from his water gun, but I always get after my kids for doing this and it doesn't seem very sanitary, so I didn't do that either. I did get one of his medicine syringes and fill it with water over and over until he had drank a whole glass-full and that seemed to work a little faster than him taking his micro-sips through the straw.

I was encouraged today because before dinner he told me he was sure hungry. He ate half a little bowl of cereal for breakfast, and for lunch only one little pinched off corner of bread that I made him eat. When I told him I was so glad he was hungry, he told me, "Of course I'm hungry! Didn't you see that I had almost nothing for lunch?!"

His head is so itchy that it's driving him crazy. It makes him restless and sometimes cry. I scratch it softly for him and he likes that. I tell him it is because his head's getting better and he tells me, "I already know that!" in his real annoyed voice.

He has seen himself in the mirror and told me that he looks kind-of scary. He asked me if his eyes are as open as they are going to get. I reassured him that more swelling will go away, his eyes will open more, the wounds will heal, and the itching will go away. I pray that I'm right.

My heart was touched this morning when it was his turn to say the prayer over breakfast and in his sweet little prayer he prayed for blessings on his grandparents, Albert's sick cousin, and even Albert's hand (which is a little sore because he jammed his finger last week). Though my thoughts were on blessing him, his thoughts were on blessing others.

Right now he is asleep and for the first time since the accident, he is not laying on his back. He is sleeping on his stomach. He is on plenty of pillows so it's soft, but I worry about him putting pressure on the sides of his head and forehead. I don't know if I should wake him up and try to roll him over onto his back (or how long he will even stay on his back anyway if I do), or just let him rest. The hospital said nothing about this.

It's the middle of the night and these little worries are keeping me from sleep. It is time for me to relax and remind myself that we are in the Lord's hands and He is blessing us.

Home Sweet Home

SUNDAY - We worked hard all day to help Ian drink all the required fluids and to eat more food, but the poor little guy never was a very big eater to begin with and has been forced to drink so much that he told me he no longer even likes Sprite and when he gets out of the hospital he's "never taking another drink of anything again". Despite our efforts, by afternoon, we were far enough behind the amount they wanted him to drink that I thought we would have to be staying another night in the hospital. But, luckily the head doctors decided that they didn't think we should be stuck at the hospital just for this reason and there was no other reason we couldn't go, so they gave the approval for us to leave.

I was so happy to be leaving, but I hoped Ian was truly ready to be home. Though he has improved so much, his appetite was very small and getting him to drink plenty of fluids so hard. Plus, he has seemed sullen and more quiet than normal. We packed up and left the hospital anyway, hoping for the best.

About 6:00 PM, we loaded Ian in the car and began to drive away. As we began to leave the city I was so tickled to hear my little Ian jabbering to himself. Ian LOVES to talk and this is something he has often done before while playing or when we are riding in the car. Talking and talking and talking. I loved hearing it!

When we arrived in our town, we stopped at Albert's grandparents because we knew they'd like to see Ian and also to pick up our other boys. As soon as we opened the door and helped Ian out of the car, he walked into the house -all by himself- and began telling everyone his stories about the hospital. He liked being the star. He liked that everyone was interested in all he had to say. He moved around the room without any problem. (At the hospital he didn't walk anywhere without holding on to Albert and I and mostly rode in the wheelchair or stayed in bed.) I was again amazed and so grateful for the miraculous healing effect that being in our town and being together and with their cousins has on my boys.

Ian soon tired and we went home and got ready for bed. Joy and gratitude filled my heart as I pulled my children close and thanked my loving Heavenly Father that we are all home together tonight. I have felt the Lord's hand in our lives this week and feel he has truly blessed us.

It had been raining outside and when I went out to gather some things from the car, I saw the sky was filled with the biggest, brightest, most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen, and it seemed to be right over our house, lighting up our home. I felt it was God smiling down on me, reminding me that He loves us and is watching over us. I am happy.

Sunday Morning

We have been feeling very anxious to go home. There are three teams of doctors working with us: the trauma team, the neuro surgery team, and plastic surgery team.We have to get approval from all three before we can go. One team will come in and tell us they can see no reason why we can't go home and then the next will come and say we need to stay. At this point, if Ian can drink enough fluid and eat a little more, we could possibly be ready to go home after his final IV antibiotics which will start this afternoon at 4:00 PM (I thought yesterday was the last dose but they changed it to one more day). If he doesn't drink/eat enough today, we will just be staying until he does (hopefully tomorrow or the next day).

The nurses have started bringing in the papers telling us what he can and can't do, what we need to be doing at home for him, how to deal with all the possible complications that may occur, how and when to make follow up appointments and how we may be able to integrate him back into school in the fall.

All this information started to overwhelm me. I began to feel like it was too hard and like it will be so long before we are back to normal again. I was grateful to have Albert here to remind me the best we can do is calm down and take it day by day. Healing takes time. We have been blessed in many ways through this and we will continue praying for our sweet Ian and our little family.

Saturday

Ian was really enjoying his sight today. He still doesn't have a lot of energy but he was awake nearly all day. He started the day right by eating a whole bowl of frosted flakes. Ian walked all the way to the elevator from our room because we couldn't find the wheelchair and he was wanting to go. We went to story time at the hospital and Albert even told one of the stories. Ian worked hard to brush his teeth and wash his face.

One of our big goals today was to get Ian drinking more fluids. Unfortunately he wasn't thirsty and didn't have much of an appetite. The requirement to leave the hospital is staying hydrated by drinking 2 fluid ounces per hour - or 24 oz in 12 hours. This is a difficult feat for this little guy. We tried really hard today but we are back on the IV for fluids again tonight. Tomorrow we will try again. We can go home as soon as he can keep himself hydrated and off the IV for 12 hours. All the IV antibiotics and medications are done or are switched to oral.

The big brothers came to see Ian again today and they were doing well. They enjoyed all the things that have been sent here for Ian. Ian was so happy to see his brothers. He was tired but seemed pleased to be able to show off his stuff and share his new things with them.

We are feeling so blessed that everything has gone as smoothly as it has. We have felt an outpouring of love from our family and friends and we know the many prayers in our behalf are being heard and answered. Thank you to all of you.

Photos of Ian

I am so amazed as I look back and realize how much this boy improves each day! Here are a few photos show his progress.

WEDNESDAY. After the breathing tube was removed. He really hated that neck brace.

THURSDAY - Ian sitting up in the rocking chair when I arrived at the hospital. Neck brace off!
This Thursday photo shows the incision on the left side and the two repaired puncture wound spots.

FRIDAY - We took him out on the balcony. The outdoor air felt so good. His left eye opened a crack and he saw a little bit while we were out there.

SATURDAY - Really starting to look like our Ian again! Both eyes are open enough to see and he's enjoyed watching cartoons and movies and seeing all the fun things that have been sent to him.

I feel so blessed and grateful that my little Ian has been healing so much each day! Thank you everyone for all the prayers and love sent our way.

The Baby Brother

The most stressful part of this whole thing for the baby has been the change in his routine and separation from mom and dad. He has been staying with Grandma and Grandpa and is getting more and more comfortable each day. He comes to visit us at the hospital with them. He will sure be glad to get Ian home and his life a little more back to normal.

Here he is driving away in a hospital car. He sure can be cute, but I know he can also be quite difficult when he is out of his comfort zone. I am so grateful to parents who are willing to tend, love and spoil this little guy.

Friday Night

After Albert went to sleep on Friday night, I was sitting up with Ian and he was hurting. We gave him some Tylenol but even 45 minutes later he was still restlessly thrashing his legs and softly crying. He couldn't relax. I tried talking to him and tickling him softly, but nothing I tried helped. I thought of asking the nurse for more pain medication, though I knew that would upset him more because he had told the nurse to leave him alone and fought and cried with the other medications.

Finally the thought came to me that we should say a prayer. I hadn't been having bedtime prayers with him since we've been at the hospital. I suggested the idea but he just kept crying and squirming. I whispered the prayer loud enough for him to hear. Then I leaned over kind-of huddling him. He pulled his legs up and his arms in under me and began to relax. I held him for a minute and then pulled an extra sheet and blanket over him and watched him fall peacefully to sleep. I am so thankful for these answers to our prayers.

Ian slept much better this night than the night before, but I woke up during the night because I heard him making some noise and found him sitting straight up in bed (I was sure glad he hadn't fallen out)! He could see out of small cracks in each eye and began jabbing about the dream he had just had. This was the most energy I'd seen out of him since we'd been hear and it made me happy (even though the dream made little sense -- I figured that was fairly normal :)).

Friday

Ian's eyes are still swollen shut and he seems to be getting more and more frustrated with the nurses and all the therapists that are trying to help him. (It must be frustrating for him not to be able to roll his eyes at people annoying him like he always has done!)

It was so nice to be able to take him out on the patio today for some fresh air and I think he enjoyed going in the wheelchair --mostly because he hates the Oximeter (or whatever it's called that measures the oxygen in your blood) and when we were out of the room he didn't have to wear that -- plus no nurses bothering him -- I thought he'd never want to go back! But after about thirty minutes he was tired and asked if he could go back to bed.

He drank and ate more than yesterday but they still want him to get more. The little guy was thin already and looks quite a bit more so now. There were two times today that he got a little peek of sight out of his left eye and saw his mom and dad and some of the other neat things that have been sent to him.

I have worried a little because he has been feeling more pain -- if you ask him where it hurts, he says "Where do you think?" in his real annoyed voice. He has memorized all the questions that the nurses have to ask him for his amnesia test, and is so annoyed that people keep asking him the same questions over and over. "I've already told you all this." He says in his same annoyed voice. It must be driving him nuts that nobody here remembers his name, his birthday, his age, where he's from, where he's at, etc.... :) As a mother, I would like it if my son would be a little more polite to the people trying to help him. But at the same time, I'm glad my same little boy is in there.

Thursday

When I arrived to the PICU Thursday morning, I was in a panic because Ian's bed was empty! Albert was sitting on the edge of it talking with two nurses. He seemed calm but where was my boy?! I entered and realized my little guy was sitting up in the rocking chair! His head was swollen worse than before but he looked so cute in the big rocking chair. He also had his neck brace off, which I knew he had really hated. The nurses were talking about getting him out of the PICU and moving him to a room in the NT (Neuro/Trauma) Unit. He had eaten some jello and yogurt and sipped some water. But after we made the move to the new room he was quite tired and didn't eat or drink much more this day. This night I was able to stay with my little Ian and Albert stayed too. Either taking turns holding hands and trying to comfort Ian during the night or cramming both of us on the single bed in the room for the parent. I was so grateful to be there helping my little Ian, and relieving some of the strain on Albert.

The Rock

I am so grateful to my wonderful husband. He truly has been a rock. He stayed calm after the accident and got the help that was needed. He has explained things to and comforted Ian as they have had to poke and prod at him. He has told Ian stories and has calmed him. He has held me and comforted me while I was falling apart. He has had the wisdom to remind us all that there is no sense in saying "If only...." or "What if...", and that that will only drive you crazy. He gave Ian a blessing soon after the injury and he has much faith and reminded me that I need to also. I am so thankful for this man!

The Older Brothers

My poor older boys! They too had been in the accident, which had scared them and hurt them, then sat at watched Ian out on the road during the wait for the ambulance. One had hurt his shoulder and the other his leg. Both had been checked out by the paramedics when they arrived but were both just bruised. However the trauma of it all I felt was also having an impact on them. The one with the hurt leg had decided that he could no longer walk, and insisted on being carried or riding in the wheelchair. The one with the hurt shoulder was only complaining a little about the pain and using his arm but totally falling apart whenever he was asked to do anything.

I didn't know what to do. These boys needed something normal, they needed their mother back but I was a wreck. My heart ached. I felt like I had lost my little Ian already and was on the verge of losing the twins too. I thought maybe I should go home with my other kids and try to act like everything was normal while Albert stayed with Ian, but I knew I couldn't do that. I prayed that everyone in my little family would be able to heal emotionally and physically from this accident.

The older boys had camp on Thursday. I thought they might be too disturbed to be able to go. I sent them to my sister-in-laws house the night before and she said she would take them if they seemed to be doing well enough.

My mother drove them and she said it was like a miracle when they arrived. Both of them seemed to turn back into themselves and jumped out of the car to play with their cousins. I was so grateful.

My sister-in-law called the next day and reported that they had both gone to camp. They had had a great time the night before and were acting normal and were both even jumping on the trampoline with no complaints about any pain. What a joy to my heart this was to hear!

After camp they called and were so excited to tell me all they had done. They loved it and sounded happy and well. They were looking forward to a sleepover/movie night/pizza party with the cousins that night.

I am so grateful to my sister-in-law and her kids and for the scout camp and leaders for putting something normal back into my boys' life when I could not, and for the many prayers uttered in the boys' behalf. I feel we are truly being blessed.

Wednesday

Albert called me early in the morning to tell me that they had awoken Ian a couple of times just long enough to test if he could open his eyes, squeeze their hands, and wiggle his toes. I was so happy to hear that he could! Of course he couldn't talk because of the breathing tube and they wanted to keep him sedated until that was out so he wouldn't strain too much.

They did another CT scan and the doctors were all very pleased about how it looked. The work they did looked good and the bruising and damage to the brain itself was very minimal . They had seen bruising in the brain the day before but had expected it to get much worse today, but it had stayed just about the same. What a blessing!! We fell very grateful and many nurses commented about how lucky he was to have so little brain injury.

The day was spent in the PICU and the breathing tube was removed and they took him off the medicine to sedate him. Again it was so wonderful to hear his little voice. He was very quiet and slept a lot. And he still kept saying he had no pain and felt fine except for the neck brace which he was beginning to violently hate.

That night Albert stayed with him again and I went to my mother's.

After Surgery

It was 10:00 PM Tuesday night when we finally were able to see our little guy. He had a breathing tube and was going to stay sedated overnight. Both Albert and I were amazed at how good he looked. He looked like my little Ian again, and Albert was completely shocked after what he had seen on the road after the accident he never thought Ian would look like this again. We were so grateful. His color was much better (they had given him two units of blood) and he was not yet terribly swollen. The nurses warned us that there would be much swelling in the next few days and that his eyes would swell shut. Albert stayed the night with him in the PICU and I went to my parents home to sleep.

Surgery

5:00 PM Tuesday. I was grateful he was going to surgery but still fearful this might be the last time I'd hear my boy's little voice or see him in his eyes. I kissed him on the check and prayed in my heart for the very best as they wheeled him away. Then we went to the waiting room for the long wait. They had told us it would be at least 1 1/2- 2 hours of surgery. We decided to try to get some dinner, we had eaten nothing since breakfast. It was hard to eat with the huge knot in my stomach. I literally felt sick - nauseated. We ate a little and went back to wait. One of the surgeons came at about 2 hours and told me things were going well and they were almost done. I felt so relieved, and went back to wait, but it was over 2 hours more before anyone returned for us. Then the surgeon said it was much more expansive than they had expected. The brain was herniated out through the crack in the front and a large amount of his dura (covering of brain) was scraped away. They had removed the frontal bone above the crack and the bone above the eyes below the crack. He said dirt was everywhere. They cleaned it out, used mesh to patch the dura and put all the bones back in. Now plastic surgery was going to finish the job. This was too much to take in. I would have never imagined that doing these things and surviving was even possible ... and done on my little boy.

All in all he was in surgery for about 5 hours with a team of 7 surgeons (3 neuro and 4 plastic). The broken part of the skull removed and a titanium plate repairing that area. A lot of scrubbing and then a large part of dura repaired with mesh. Frontal bones replaced and crack closed. The nurse told me they had used 34 screws. Finally the "scalped" side had been closed as well as all the incisions.

Waiting for Surgery

Actually hoping and praying for our son to be able to get into brain surgery as soon as possible felt strange to me, but I knew that he could not begin the healing process until we got it out of the way. They showed us the CT scans in the PICU right away it was obvious to us why the surgery was needed. An enormous horizontal crack through the forehead part of his skull running pretty much from one ear to the other. On his right side the skull had been crushed in a spot and pieces of the skull bone pushed inside. On the left side, the CT scan just showed the crack but this was the side that had been "scalped" (as Albert had explained) and plastic surgeons were going to try to repair the large area that had been removed to the skull. The surgeons had met with us and told us what they would do and that we were just waiting for a chance to get into surgery.

They had awoken Ian a couple of times and Ian had spoken to me. I was amazed to hear how much he knew. They asked if he knew his name: "Ian". They asked what his birthday was: "May 7th". They asked him if he knew where he was: "At the doctor's office and I'm really bad." One of the nurses told me they asked him if he was riding on a four wheeler and he had told her "No, a Ranger". What a blessing to be able to hear your little boys voice and that he knows something at a time like this! The odd thing was that they had not given him any pain medicine and every time he was asked if he had any pain he either said "No", "I feel fine", or "I feel normal". Though he did have some complaints about the IV's in his arm and hand and he really didn't like the neck brace. No pain? This didn't make any sense to me.

I began to feel more and more anxious about getting him to surgery. It was about 4:30 and the PICU nurse suspected that it wouldn't be until at least 7 that night. I had been praying in my heart since the phone call this morning that my boy would be okay and that all of this would just miraculously go away, but at this time I changed my prayers to a plead to get my sweet little boy into surgery right away. Within a few minutes, the phone rang and when the nurse got off, he announce we'd be going to surgery in 30 minutes. I am so thankful to the Lord for this tender mercy and the reminder that he is aware of us.

The Emergency Room

In the past all my experiences with the Emergency Room included a long wait. Not this one. I walked in told the lady at the desk that I was Ian's mom and someone came to get me in less than 20 seconds. No paperwork. No questions. No waiting. They took me right to him. There was about a dozen doctors, nurses and technicians buzzing around him. They were wheeling his bed into the room for the CT scan and they told me I could go with him and talk to him.

His face was very pale and his lips purple. His head was wrapped in enough bandaging that he looked like he was wearing a turban. There was blood coming through both sides of the bandaging and dried blood and dirt all over his face. He had a neck brace on his neck. I held his hand and told him, "Mommy is here." He did not respond. His eyes were partially opened but not focused on me or anything, just slowly moving back and forth.

The CT images must have been immediately digitally shown to the doctors and I overheard them saying that he needed to go to emergency surgery right away. But first he was rushed for some more X-rays on his neck and this time I could watch but had to stand in the hall.

I wanted to be strong for Ian, so I wasn't completely sobbing, but could not stop the tears from falling down my face as I tried to take this all in. How could this be happening to my sweet little boy? The social worker asked if he had spoken to me and I said no but maybe it was all the pain medication. He told me that he didn't think Ian had been given any pain medication because it can interfere with surgery and that after an traumatic injury the body goes into an adrenaline rush, but then later crashes is completely exhausted which he felt was more likely the case.

They moved him into a spot in the ER and said that another head trauma patient was arriving and would have to go to surgery before Ian because it was a more critical case and Ian was stable and would be okay to wait. One of the doctors woke Ian and I heard him speak. It was soft and hard to understand, but it proved to me that he was not completely unconscious. Albert arrived and told me the details of the accident and we hugged and cried together in fear that we might be losing our precious little boy. They soon moved us to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) to wait for surgery.

Telling Mom

We had stayed in the city (for the forth of July fireworks) the night before and the baby and I had stayed to go shopping with my friend who was visiting, while Albert and the big boys had gone on home to work on the farm. My friend and I had just reached the parking lot of the next store we were going to when Albert called. He calmly told me that the boys had a crash and that Ian was hurt and I would need to meet them at the hospital in the city. When the news sunk in, I was in a panic. Imagining the worst and praying for the best. My friend and I rushed to my mom's house and then my mom and I rushed to the hospital.

The Accident

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 10:30 AM, Ian and his older brothers were riding in the Ranger following their father, Albert, who was driving the tractor. They were on their way to haul hay in a nearby field. They were going slow, only 7 mph. Albert was watching them carefully from the tractor. He saw the Ranger slowly veering off the road. On that side of the road there is a bit of an incline, the Ranger slowly went up and then tipped over on it's side. Albert nearly jumped out of the tractor without stopping it, and rushed to the boys. Both of the older brothers got up, but Ian was down on the ground. He was cut and seriously bleeding from his head, but still conscious and able to communicate with Albert. Albert called 911 and tried to keep Ian talking while they waited about 20 minutes for the Paramedics to arrive. The paramedics called life-flight and the helicopter left the ground for the 15-minute ride to the hospital at about 11:30.