We just wanted to share the events as we heard them over the past two days, as this has affected us greatly. It started with the phone call that you hope you never get - Grandma called Thursday night and shared with us that there had been an accident. As she exited the temple with Brent and Laurie, she picked up a message on her phone about the accident. Brent had already been approached by someone in the temple who had seen Hunter immediately following the accident and mentioned it.
The only information that Grandma had at that time was that Hunter was at the Mesquite Hospital and that he was going to be life-flighted to Las Vegas. We tried for awhile trying to reach anyone who might have information on Hunter's condition - unfortunately with no luck. Dori then called John, who was working a shift with the Highway Patrol, and she asked if he could get any information. John went to the hospital, but the nurses stated they couldn't provide any details, but did state that he had been life-flighted to Las Vegas. John then was able to get in touch with the officers who were on the scene in Mesquite. They shared with John that Hunter was conscious until they arrived on the scene, but shortly thereafter, he became non-responsive. They shared that it did not look good and that he had experienced severe head injuries.
Dori called back and shared that Duane and Kim were home packing to go to Las Vegas and that Hunter would be in surgery all night. Darla was finally able to talk to Duane and he shared that he was very hopeful that everything would be alright.
We woke up Friday morning and the first thing we did was call Duane for an update. He let us know that they did not end up doing surgery and instead attempted to use medicine to relieve the pressure from the swelling resulting from the head injuries. Duane and Kim stayed at her sister's house in Las Vegas and were on the way to the hospital.
Througout the day, it seemed like every time we received news, the updates would go from optimistic to less favorable in terms of the swelling, fever and overall outlook. At times throughout the process, we would hear there was a 50/50 chance of him pulling through, which was obviously difficult to hear.
Around 7 pm Las Vegas time, Kim and Jessica were traveling back to Mesquite, while Duane was going to stay at the hospital with Hunter. Duane called Kim to state that things had taken a turn for the worse - as a result, they were going to have to induce a coma. Kim and Jessica immediately turned around and headed back to the hospital. The medicine used for this would take approximately an hour to take effect.
It makes you realize how much you love not only your immediate family, but your extended family as well. Life is precious - we look forward to the day that Hunter will be back up here at our house smashing holes in the frozen pond (and accidentally falling through for a third time!) We are here to help - let us know how we can. We love you all.
Scott & Darla
