Day 2 Thursday

He made it through the first 24 hours and we were told by the head of the trauma team Dr. Levison that he was extremely critical but there was slight improvement in the lungs. Said it would be a couple of weeks before they would probably remove the respirator and of course that is just an estimate. The left lung sustained the most damage and the top of the lung where it should be inflated is flat.

Today is his first surgery to repair the left arm, finger and stabalize the ankle. The surgery took a couple of hours and they put a splint on his arm, placed a pin in the finger and a fixator on the ankle. The devise looks rather strange and it's similar to a traction apparatus. There are nuts and bolts screwed into his foot on each side and the shin bone. The goal is to let the ankle rest and become less swollen so it can be operatated on.

This is going to be a very long, painful recovery. You that know Leonard well know that he has very little patience but he does have determination and I know in my heart that he will overcome all of this no matter what.

We thank all of you for all your prayers....they are working.

Day 1 Wednesday

It's 6:30 in the morning. I was still half asleep in bed contemplating getting up when the phone rang. It was a nurse informing me that Leonard had been in an automobile accident and suffered some broken bones and his lung was collapsed. It sounds serious but not life threatening until she mentioned that they were airlifting him to John C. Lincoln Hospital, North Mountain. This is a trauma hospital. I threw myself together and started my journey to the hospital which is about an hour from our house and of course I had to deal with rush hour traffic. I called Michelle enroute and told her he was in an accident but I didn't know the extent of the injuries at that time. She got ready and met me down there. His friend and boss Mike was also called from the accident scene and he came to the hospital as well.

When I arrived I was taken into a small room and had to wait for someone to come and talk to me which was freaking me out because I just knew it was not going to be good news. The lady that came explained to me that he had many breaks and collapsed lungs. He sustained breaks to his left arm and pinkie finger, left hip, sternum, a multitude of ribs, bruised liver and other internal contussions, right leg below the knee, bad cut just about the right knee, and a crushed right ankle. We thank God every day that there were no head, neck or back injuries.

The #1 concern is his lungs because with them both collapsed he has to be on a ventilator to help him breath plus it helps them to heal. The other big concerns are the hip and ankle.

I called Brian who was in Ontario CA on a business trip and he flew home later that afternoon. We didn't know what we were facing and I wanted us all together.

Leonard was fairly upset due to the fact he was having a difficult time communicating with us. He tried to write us some words but they were pretty garbled. We were able to guess a couple of them. Just like a man, he was concerned about his truck which is totalled out.