Richard Buendorf

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On Dec 12, Dick had a bad fall that resulted in many broken ribs on his right side..The ribs then punctured his lung causing it to collapse. He also, hit his head in the fall resulting in a small brain bleed.  He was taken by EMT's to Regions Hospital in St. Paul where he is currently in ICU and remains on a ventilator under heavy sedation and pain meds to allow his Ribs and lung to heal. This sort of injury is called a flail chest due to the fact that several of his ribs are broken in multiple spots which in turn doesn't give support to his lung in his chest. They say this is an extremely painful injury and if he were off the ventilator , it would be too painful for him to breathe adequately enough to sustain his oxygen needs and prevent the threat of pneumonia.  The brain bleed appears to have resolved without complications but until he's fully awake, we won't know for sure. 


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