Recap

OK, for those who have not been on the email chain previously, here's what has happened...

On Wednesday, June 10, Jake and some friends were riding BMX bikes at the local skate park. Jake crashed attempting a jump and landed on the concrete on his head and face. Denise and I received a call from the Temecula FD stating that Jake had suffered a serious injury and was being transported to Inland Valley Medical Center.

At Inland Valley we were told the extent of Jake's injuries. He had a severe laceration running from the inside of his right eyebrow, running up his forehead and turning above his hairline to the left side of his head, creating a flap exposing his skull.

He suffered a fractured skull, shattered orbits around his eyes, a broken nose, broken cheek bone, broken bones around his mouth, a small bleed on his brain and possible vertebral damage.

They sutured his laceration and and placed him in a cervical collar. Inland Valley did not have a facial surgeon that could handle the level of damage done to Jake's face, so they transferred him to Loma Linda Medical Center, about an hour north of Temecula.

The good news was that while Jake blacked out after the initial crash he regained consciousness and was lucid in the ambulance and ER. The doctors felt the bleed was not probably a problem, but needed to be monitored. He had no loss of sensation and could move all his extremities with not problem. His vision did not seem to have been damaged, but his eyes were so swollen he could barely open them.

Loma Linda moved him to their Rapid Admission Unit, kind of an interim location where they can move people out of the ER before their regular unit is ready to receive them.

Denise and I spent the night and most of the next day with him. I arranged for a friend from work to pick me up on Thursday afternoon and drive me home so that I could get a few hours sleep (Thanks Bill).

Nick (my son) was already scheduled to fly down from UCD that evening. My sister Jackie picked him up in San Diego and drove him up to Temecula. Nick then drove me back to Loma Linda so that I could spend the night shift with Jake and Nick took Denise home for a night's sleep.

One other note, the paramedics and hospital staff all commented on the great job Jake's friends did in treating him until help arrived. Ryan used his shirt to try to stop the bleeding with pressure on Jake's laceration and they kept him stable until the paramedics arrived. I'm certain that they saved his life. I can't thank these guys enough.