Chris Wooten

Chris is a 14-year veteran for the NC State Highway Patrol. On Monday, July 22, Chris was in a motorcycle accident on duty. He was airlifted to the hospital. He had surgery to fuse together his C1-C5 vertebrae to stabilize his spine and decompress the spinal cord. However, there was significant trauma to the spinal cord, and the surgeons classified the injury as a complete spinal cord injury at the top of the spine, resulting in paralysis from the neck down. 

He's had a tracheostomy and a feeding tube placed, which has allowed him to communicate with us better. A few days ago, they turned down the ventilator, and we were able to hear his voice! The nurses have worked with my dad to get him sat up in bed and in a wheelchair. He's able to shrug his shoulders a little bit now (which he wasn't able to do initially).

While this news has shaken up our world, we are extremely grateful he is still with us and still very much himself. He's told a few "pull my finger" jokes with the nurses already :) Most of all, he's a fighter. He always has been and he'll continue to fight every day. 

I've always known my dad to be the kindest, funniest, and most positive person, and after all of the visitors he's had this week, I know everyone else he meets feels the same way about him. The outpouring of love and support my dad and the rest of my family have received this week has been amazing. We've tried to keep everyone updated as we receive texts and calls, but we thought that this might be a better way to keep everyone updated. Chris should be in the hospital for the remainder of the week before he leaves for rehab. 

As he continues to make progress, we'll be sure to keep this page updated! Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. We can't put into words how much it means to Chris and the rest of the family.