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June 16, 2001
By Kevin Denke An expense account has been established to help the family of injured Lewis teenager Brad Russell. Russell, 16, was critically injured last week when the Toyota pickup he was riding in with two friends rolled over on a deeply rutted dirt road south of Road 18. He was partially ejected from the vehicle and suffered severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, and a damaged spleen, as well as multiple fractures. The other occupants of the vehicle — driver Christopher Willett, 17, and Kit Carver, 16, both of Cortez — were treated and released at Southwest Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. Russell, who had just completed his sophomore year at Montezuma-Cortez High School, has remained in a coma at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction since the accident. However, family friend Nancy Schultz says there are some positve signs including the fact that his spleen is beginning to repair itself and his eyes have partially opened. Doctors planned to remove his ventilator temporarily on Thursday and see how he reacted. There are also plans to possibly move Russell from the ICU to a regular room. It is still difficult to tell the extent of brain damage that Russell sustained or when he might awaken from the coma. "He’s getting better. It is just going to be a long haul," said sister Katrina Duncan. The expense account is designed to help his family during this difficult time as they have had to travel to and from Grand Junction to be with their son. Russell’s father, Ron, works as a meterman for Empire Electric and his mother, Tammy, works at Four Seasons Greenhouse but has taken a leave of absence. The account is at Citizens State Bank in Brad Russell’s name. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
