Update on my Brother

Well, I wish my 300th post could be on a more upbeat note, but such is not the case.

My brother was taken by helicopter from our rinky dink hospital to UK in Lexington because they have a trauma center. He has a huge gash in the back of his head that will require stitches. He also has a skull fracture over his left ear.

My entire family (aunts, uncles, cousins...) that live here were at the hospital. He's not really awake, and he doesn't remember much of anything. He knows he fell and he knows he's in the hospital. He also recognized us all, so that's good. So far things look okay, but there's always that chance there could be damage to the brain. We are praying against that.

Needless to say, I am really torn up about this as this is my little brother, and seeing him lie there in a hospital bed helpless is tearing me up inside. I've had to keep a straight face and stay strong for my mom and the rest of the family, but now that I'm alone for a second I'm gonna have a big cry to get it out of my system.

I am only home for a minute to eat something and take a shower, then I'm going back to Lexington to be with my brother. I love him so much.

And so does everyone else. Several of his friends came all the way from Winchester to see him, and one of them's even staying all night. All his friend's parents love him to death and think the world of him. It's really encouraging to see how much attention he gets.

Luckily just about everyone has been able to go back and see him even though he's not in a private room. He's still in the emergency room, and they still haven't made a big fuss. At first they wouldn't even let me back, which upset me some. But now it's all good.

We keep joking that what's going to tick Zach off the most is having his hair cut to put in the stitches. He has really long curly hair, kind of a white-boy skater fro, and everybody loves his hair. They call him Poofy. He gets mad if you even mention getting the dead ends cut off. And right before school starts in less than two weeks they have to cut it off. He's going to be ticked. Not to mention they had to cut his brand new clothes off he just bought at the mall with his birthday money. I'm talked $60 jeans and a $20 shirt, and the entire front of his $60 shoes tore open. But I'd rather he be bald and nude than be hurt any worse than he already is.

What happened as I understand it from the only kid I've talked to who was there, and is Zach's best friend, a good kid, is that all Zach was doing was riding down a hill when his board started wobbling. He lost his balance and tried to spin to land on his side, but spun around too far and smacked the back and side of his head on the pavement.

You all can imagine how hard it is to see him lying there. I was 15 when he was born and then his father passed away three months later. Mom then had to go back to work, and I had to help raise him. I was with him more than anybody for the first several years of his life. We have a bond that goes stronger than your average siblings, and it is killing me inside to see this happen. I'm trying my hardest to stay positive, it's just so hard.

Please continue to keep Zach in your prayers and thoughts. Thank you very much and God bless!

Brant