Rusty in Hospital after a Big Fall

It's 6:11AM: Rusty had a fall last night doing some yard work. Fell on his head and side. Details sketchy but he's pretty banged up. We're headed to Rome, GA to see him right now.

Update 9:57PM: Long day, but Rusty is OK.

Heather got a call at about 6:00AM. Her father told her what was going on. We immediately left for Rome, making a quick stop in Carrollton to drop off Bear at the vet and pick up Freck.

We didn't know too much while we drove, and were very concerned. I'd say we were conversational but quiet as we both reflected on the situation. In a moment what was important, our planned trip this weekend with Rusty to the St. Anthony's Triathlon he's been training for, became an almost forgotten memory. We weren't sure if he was conscious. The phone call with heather's father had been quick and left a number of questions.

Then, halfway out we heard from heather's father that Rusty was conscious. That helped.

Then Rusty called. Hearing his voice on the cell phone as Heather talked to him was a massive relief. He was alert and joking.

We made it to Rome at around 11:00AM. Rusty has big bruises under his eyes. One eye is bruised shut. He was sitting up in bed.

Last night he was cleaning out debris from one of the apartment complexes that he owns. He was moving junk from his truck to a dumpster. He was stepping from the truck to a toolbox to the dumpster and back. He had done this a number of times and it wasn't much cause for alarm.

Then, somehow, he fell from atop the dumpster. Luckily there were others around. He was unconscious for somewhere around three minutes. He fell onto his head and side. Concrete. Lots of bleeding.

He was taken to the Villa Rica hospital where he was diagnosed in critical condition. He had skull fractures and the doctors wanted to move him to a bigger trauma center. Heather's parents, his brother Roy and Jean made it to the hospital quickly.

An ambulance transfered him to Rome, GA where diagnostic CAT scans were done. Rusty was put on morphine and transported from gurney to gurney.

Rusty doesn't remember much. He doesn't remember falling. Which makes sense. The brain processes information quickly and maintains a short term cache of around 7-9 seconds. From there, relevant information makes it into mid-term and long-term memory over the course of a minute or so. It has to go through filters to figure out what's worth remembering. When Rusty fell, everything that was still being processed for the minute prior was lost... actually, lost is the wrong way to put it... it just never had a chance to be written. Like an unsaved Microsoft Word document on a computer that you unplug. There's no point for him to try to remember it... it's just not there.

By the morning hours his prognosis was improving, but it was clear that he wasn't out of the woods. By the time we got to the hospital he was awake and talking.

He fractured four, five, maybe six ribs. Very painful to move or breathe. He has a basal skull fracture, as diagnosed by the racoon eye bruises and the cat scan. His shoulder hurts. His toe is sprained and possibly broken. His wrist hurts.

We were there for his noon visit with the neurologist. The theme for the day was "nothing we can do for that." Everything he has just heals on its own. Can't bind ribs. Don't splint toes. Can't put his head in a cast.

We had about ten or eleven family members around his bed for three or four hours. Rusty was alert and talkative. We took pictures and realized that Rusty was still Rusty.

While things worked out, we all realize how close this was. One degree here or there and Rusty's spine could have been snapped. If he hadn't been in such good physical condition from the triathlon training his body may not have fought back so quickly in those critical first hours after the fall. This was a close call.

Mostly, we're reminded of how important Rusty is to all of us.

He'll get better. They're likely to kick him out of the hospital tomorrow morning. Then he's got a few very rough days where he'll need some help eating/moving. Then some weeks of general recovery. Then some months of deep recovery. He's already showing signs in the way that he fought out of bed to go to the bathroom under his own power that he's not willing to sit back and wait. He's going to make himself recover.

After the visit Heather's parents, Robin, Heather and I went to Red Lobster for a meal. When Heather asked Beep & Ball whether they'd skip the race to take care of Rusty, Beep answered "Rusty who?" Too funny. I was actually planning on staying in Atlanta for Rusty, but we all generally agreed that Rusty has enough people to take care of him and would likely want us to go. That said, if anything changes in his condition (unlikely as of now) we'll all skip the event in a heart beat.

Rusty thanks those who called me to check in on him. Sorry we didn't get back to you today. Both Heather and I were up most of last night... me with a headache and Heather with, well, pregnancy. We had our cell phones going to voicemail at the hospital and by the time we got home at 6:25PM we fell into the bed and slept for a few hours. I only woke up 30 minutes ago to grab a bite to eat.

Get well Rusty! We'll see you next May at the half Ironman!

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