Shana's husband, Erik, writes:
Somehow, the metal pulley attached to the hay rail at the top of the barn came off and struck him on the forehead (think 20-25 pound cast iron object hanging 20 feet up).
He has a skull fracture at the top of the forehead and is bruised up a good deal. However, he is recovering nicely and considering what could have happened, he is doing well.
At this time, the docs do not think he'll need surgery, although there is a small bit of air in the area of the fracture that they want to keep a close eye on. They assume it will dissipate on its own, but don't want to take any chances.
There was no damage to his spine/neck, brain and thus far it appears he does not have a concussion. Throughout he has remained stable, lucid, able to walk, and fully conscious. We are very grateful that things were not worse! He is currently at St. Paul Regions and is scheduled for another CT scan tomorrow morning. After that the docs will make a decision about what to do; home or surgery are the two likely options.
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers. For now, he has requested no phone calls or visits until he's regained a bit of strength and finally been allowed to get some real sleep. We'll keep you posted with any new details.
Thanks for everyone's support, we really appreciate it.
(Photo is of Linda Letnes, Paul, and Ron Letnes last spring. Link to the Shana, Erik, Anja blog, at left, to follow Paul's recovery.)
