Day 1 — Monday, June 17, 2024

2:00 PM #

Shane and I went for a walk. He said he wanted to get out and move because he was starting to feel sleepy. It was a warm day. He was excited because some of his projects had made progress. He told me he had been setting up computers for his team because they were just getting moved back in after the remodel. He told a funny story about Josh splitting the seam in the back of his pants. We filled a water bottle in our room and walked back to the Office Complex.

3:00 PM #

We went back up the west stairway into the Office Complex. We said goodbye at the 2nd floor. I told him “Don’t run the stairs, or you’ll split your pants like Josh.” 🙂

3:10 PM #

I was back at my desk after using the restroom. Andrew Harkess came in a hurry to my door. He said Shane had an emergency in the hallway of the 3rd floor. I said, “There’s no way you would be joking about this.” He said no and that EMTs were with Shane and that they would take him in the stretcher to the ambulance at the Main Lobby circle. Jeff Malone called my phone and asked if anyone had found me yet. I thanked him and said “Yes, I know. I’m headed to the ambulance.” Vernon Marshall met us in the hallway of the second floor too. He asked if anyone could drive and go with me to the Good Samaritan hospital. I looked around the offices but many were working from home. Josh Gerber came and said he already told Gabrielle and they would bring the car to the circle and drive me. They said the emergency personnel had called the level 1, highest response, and that they were with Shane within 2 minutes. Later, we learned that although no one saw the fall, someone in an office heard a noise and went out to the hallway and found Shane. They immediately called the emergency responders.

3:15 PM #

At the circle in front of the lobby, all the visitors had been sent further inside to give space for the EMTs to work. They were getting the straps placed so they could lift and wheel the stretcher into the ambulance. Shane was saying, “Please leave me alone.” The nurse Mackenzie Estenoz gave him a shot of medication in the arm to calm him. Dr. Garrett LaSalle and Bo Scribner were standing nearby. I ask Dr. LaSalle, “Do you have any information about what happened?” He said Shane collapsed. He was unconscious at that moment and that he suspected that his skull was fractured from impact on the ground. I asked how he could tell he was unconscious and possibly had a fracture. He didn’t explain fully then due to the limited time but later he explained that he could see that the impact had ruptured his right ear drum and that blood and cerebral spinal fluid were leaking from it. The cerebral spinal fluid forms a transparent layer on top of the blood. He also said that Shane was unconscious during the fall because no extremity was injured or abraded. When a person falls, an involuntary impulse takes over and extends a limb to prevent the head from hitting the ground first. Shane was unconscious and therefore did not prevent or slow the fall. After the fall, however, Shane was conscious. The EMTs found him lying on the ground confused and agitated. He resisted their help because of mental confusion. It took several guys to lift him safely to the stretcher and get him down the elevator to the sidewalk where the ambulance was. I asked if I could ride in the ambulance but they said Dr. LaSalle and the other medical team members would go. He later explained that he was prepared to do an emergency procedure en route to keep Shane’s airway from closing if it became necessary. Tito Estenoz drove the ambulance and his wife the nurse, Mackenzie went with them. Tito’s pants were stained down the leg with blood from when they transferred Shane to the stretcher.

3:35 PM #

The Good Samaritan hospital ER stabilized Shane. The initial CT scan showed two skull fractures; right occipital bone, non displaced, right temporal bone, non displaced. But no midline shift. The midline shift is when the brain gets off center because of swelling. They scan showed hemorrhages in these places: left frontal Sub arachnoid (space between the brain and the tissue surrounding the brain), left temporal, left cerebral (base), right inferior frontal. He vomited during the CT scan. He could still respond to his name although it was delayed. I confirmed that they had Shane’s medical directive and filled out the firm for blood fractions. While we waited for the scan, I told Dr. LaSalle that Shane many times in the past had said would want any serious treatment at West Chester Medical Center. Dr. LaSalle explained that Good Samaritan was the closest ER and the first priority was to guarantee the airway. They would intubate him and sedate him soon. Then they would transfer him to West Chester because it is a Level 1 trauma center. The Good Samaritan ER doctor came and told us that Shane would be moved by ambulance or helicopter soon to the trauma ICU. They decided on the ambulance because it was available first. They sedated him more for transport and he didn’t respond after that. The EMT who prepared for his transport used a gauze and confirmed the blood collecting in his right ear was mixed with cerebral spinal fluid, an indicator that there was a fracture. I asked Dr. LaSalle how I could make sure that West Chester would scan again once we got there. He said it was a good facility with a Neuro ICU and they would do their own thorough evaluation when he arrived. I rode in the ambulance in the front and contacted Bill and Betty Perry and my family.

4:10 PM #

West Chester Medical Center ER. Dr Gabriel Froula took Shane into the exam area, pulled the curtain closed and had me wait outside. There is no public access to the ER, so I expected to be alone there. But I wasn’t. I was alone for three minutes before Chris Fairley from the HLC found me standing in the ER hallway. Those were the only three minutes I was alone. Over the next four months, Jehovah made sure I never had to face anything difficult by myself.Josh and Gabrielle Gerber also found me after Chris, by some way that I’m still not sure about. The doctors came to get consent for two procedures, if needed. One was for a port at the side of his neck in case they needed to use strong medications. The other was for a bolt placed in the skull to monitor intracranial pressure. First, I confirmed that they had the medical directive and the form for blood fractions. Next, I signed the consent for the procedures.

5:00 PM #

A new CT scan showed fractures in the right temporal, parietal and occipital bones and that there was a midline shift. It showed intracranial hemorrhages increased, left frontal Sub arachnoid (space between the brain and the tissue surrounding the brain), left temporal, left cerebral (base), right inferior frontal. The swelling was displacing the position of the brain. They explained that as swelling continues it suffocates the brain stem, where basic life functions like breathing and heart rhythm are controlled. They increased sedation.

5:30 PM #

He was moved into a treatment room. They placed the bolt and the intracranial pressure was rising. The nurse said the average pressure for ICP is 6. They would monitor and if the pressure reached 20 for a sustained period of time, they would decide on surgery.

9:00 PM #

Justin and Gina Brooks, Josh and Gabrielle Gerber, and Emma Lamaire, the infirmary nurse, and Chris Fairley took turns coming from the family waiting area to sit with me and Shane. An infirmary nurse was with me and Shane every day from this point on for the next 22 days. Eric and Cecibel Loff and Marc and Susan Coles were outside because no one else was allowed in the waiting area. Melissa and Bo Scribner helped pack an overnight bag for me. I called Olivia to tell her about Shane’s accident and that I didn’t know what to do about her visit that week. She said she’d make her own arrangements. Several people bought food and snacks to the family area. I ate some soup but I felt nauseous before I could finish it. I went back with Shane.

-continued on June 18