The Injuries

This is what we know.  Apparently Lars was up and walking around at the site of the accident.  Then he became disoriented and combative, not making sense.  He was life-flighted to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah.

Very quickly after his arrival in the ER, the ER physician said that he was not making sense, speaking about leaving on his mission and other things.  They intubated him (put a tube in his throat) to help him breathe and to allow him to be calm enough to get CAT scans and xrays, etc.

The most severe injuries are to his lungs.  He has very severe pulmonary contusions (banged up lungs) and he also aspirated (threw up) the contents of his stomach into his lungs.  Together this makes a bad combination.  In addition he had a small pneumothorax (punctured lung) and a small hemothorax (blood around the lungs).  As a result he has a chest tube in the right side of his chest to help re-inflate his lung and suction off a small amount of blood.

He also had a head injury, that appears to be 'minor'.  We all know that Lars is hard-headed, and in this case that was helpful.  There is a small laceration (tear) to his spleen, but not significant enough to warrant surgery.  He is hemodynamically stable (his heart and blood pressure are okay).  There does not appear to be any injury to his neck or spinal cord.  There is no internal bleeding. There are no broken bones.

The best guess is that he will be on the ventilator (breathing machine) 7-14 days. It will be slow progress as they gradually decrease the amount of oxygen that they are giving him (it started at 100% and is currently 60%--normal room air is 21%).

He has multiple abrasions (cuts and scrapes all over).  They are not severe. 

We'll try to keep you updated as time goes forward.  We thank you for all your prayers.