Carl Schreier

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On Saturday Morning (November 18th), Carl was involved in an accident out at Jason Schreier's place while they were cutting trees in the grove.

*Carl was actually involved in an accident on Friday afternoon, while out cutting trees as well.  A tree kicked back and hit him in the chest and knocked him out.  He really should of went to the hospital then, but argued with Jason that he was okay.  Carl went home for the night to rest, and had a sore shoulder, chest, and hip.  He told mom on Friday night that maybe he was going to use more LP this winter instead of the wood burner.  Naturally, she said "That's a good idea"*

Saturday AM: Carl was supposed to be home resting while my mom ran into town for Christ Lutheran's bake sale.  She called him and told him that she was going to show a house in Slayton at 10AM and then she was going to be coming home so we could all make Lefse.  His only reason to the leave the house was to go get a hair cut.   He told mom "have fun, see you later."  Before mom left the house, he told her he was going to stay in his chair for the day.
WELL, that didn't happen.  If anyone knows Carl, he can't sit still, and he's always appreciative of any help he gets.   He went down to Jason's where Jed and Jason were cutting trees for him.   He came up and said thank you for doing this, sorry i can't help after getting hurt yesterday.  Jason is always a huge help to our family, he's a great friend, neighbor, and cousin!  The boys thought Carl left, but for some reason did not.  Jason pulled the saw from the tree and Jed was applying pressure with the loader, but unfortunately with the high wind the tree fell the opposite direction.  Carl was hit in the back of the head with a branch off the tree.  When Jason and Jed got to Carl, they didn't think he was alive.  Jason called 911, and Jed called Cassie his wife.   The boy's did everything they can until she got there.  Cassie is a nurse and an EMT, so she was able to help revive him when she got there. Taylor Schreier, Carl's niece was also there to assist.  Her and Cassie will forever be Carl's angels.  We can't express how grateful we are for those two girls.  Also, thank you to the Murray County Ambulance team and the Murray County Medical staff for stabilizing him before the transfer.

Carl was airlifted to Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls SD.   When he arrived they immediately did a CAT Scan to see what the extent of his injuries were.  All we knew when he left was that he had a severe injury to the back of his head.   The trauma doctor came in to speak with us and said that Carl had a severe skull fracture,  brain bleeding, and a broken neck.   I'm not going to lie, I expected the brain injury, but never prepared myself for the broken neck.  The word "paralyzed" was heart wrenching to hear.   All we could do was pray right away.

They were going to do immediate surgery to get his neck stabilized and remove a rather large section of his skull to allow the brain to swell.  The surgeon then came in to speak with us and explain the procedure and his thoughts.   He believed Carl would recover just fine from the brain injury, but he believed he would be paralyzed from below the diaphragm.  He thought the surgery would only take 2 hours.  However, it took 9 hours due to Carl's previous neck injury, and he had a such a stiff neck they could not do the surgery from the front like they hoped.  Once they were done, we were able to see him in ICU. 

I will update as much as possible to keep everyone in the loop.  Carl is currently in the Critical Care ICU in Room 3310.  He is surrounded daily by family and friends.  We all pray for the best possible outcome and a quick recovery.