Hi--My name is Art Jones and I'm Eric Jones' dad. Eric has asked that I add a note to his blog to let you know what's happened since his last posting.
As you've read, there was a fire in the market in Kumba, Cameroon and many of the businesses owned by Eric's Camerooian friends were damaged. A bit after the fire and a little over two weeks ago, Eric was helping friends clean up when a piece of heavy equipment fell and hit him in the back of the head. He was taken to the hospital in Kumba and then MedEvaced by helicopter to the main hospital in Yaounde where a severe basal skull fracture was diagnosed. After several days, it became clear that evaluation and treatment needed to be done in a more medically sophisticated setting and so, about 11 days ago he was flown to Kloof Medi-Clinic, a state of the art hospital just outside Johannesberg, RSA. I flew there from Denver and was there for about a week.
Eric is awake (most of the time), knows where he is and what's going on around him. He has full use of his extremities and can walk, though he's weak. X-Rays (CTs, MRIs, etc.) and other tests show a very severe basal skull fracture which has injured several of his cranial nerves. He has substantial weakness of the left side of his face, trouble moving his right eye (though he can see out of it) and difficulty with swallowing that also makes his speech a bit difficult to understand. The injury blocked off his left carotid artery but he's lucky (finally) and his right carotid is providing adequate blood flow to his brain.
Neurosurgeons, ENT, Internal Medicine, nursing and therapy staffs are working aggressively to both evaluate and treat his deficits. In spite of the severity of Eric's injuries (which could have resulted in death or a more devastating neurologic outcome), the medical staff feels that a full recovery is possible. It is our hope that Eric will be able to return to Denver before Christmas and continue his recovery here.
I;m sorry that I can't match Eric's wry sense of humor or perceptive comments. His mood is usually good and I know that he appreciates your positive thoughts and energy. I can forward any comments from my email address which is surg5134@aol.com and will update his blog when there is new information available.
Thanks!
Art
As you've read, there was a fire in the market in Kumba, Cameroon and many of the businesses owned by Eric's Camerooian friends were damaged. A bit after the fire and a little over two weeks ago, Eric was helping friends clean up when a piece of heavy equipment fell and hit him in the back of the head. He was taken to the hospital in Kumba and then MedEvaced by helicopter to the main hospital in Yaounde where a severe basal skull fracture was diagnosed. After several days, it became clear that evaluation and treatment needed to be done in a more medically sophisticated setting and so, about 11 days ago he was flown to Kloof Medi-Clinic, a state of the art hospital just outside Johannesberg, RSA. I flew there from Denver and was there for about a week.
Eric is awake (most of the time), knows where he is and what's going on around him. He has full use of his extremities and can walk, though he's weak. X-Rays (CTs, MRIs, etc.) and other tests show a very severe basal skull fracture which has injured several of his cranial nerves. He has substantial weakness of the left side of his face, trouble moving his right eye (though he can see out of it) and difficulty with swallowing that also makes his speech a bit difficult to understand. The injury blocked off his left carotid artery but he's lucky (finally) and his right carotid is providing adequate blood flow to his brain.
Neurosurgeons, ENT, Internal Medicine, nursing and therapy staffs are working aggressively to both evaluate and treat his deficits. In spite of the severity of Eric's injuries (which could have resulted in death or a more devastating neurologic outcome), the medical staff feels that a full recovery is possible. It is our hope that Eric will be able to return to Denver before Christmas and continue his recovery here.
I;m sorry that I can't match Eric's wry sense of humor or perceptive comments. His mood is usually good and I know that he appreciates your positive thoughts and energy. I can forward any comments from my email address which is surg5134@aol.com and will update his blog when there is new information available.
Thanks!
Art
posted by Eric Jones at 5:11 AM
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