June 29, 2011

On Wednesday June 29th Jessie Short (18 year old up and coming senior at Chiefland High School) left his home on his was to earn some money to pay his car insurance. Jessie turned 18 on June 18th. So excited because he was finally able to get his truck legal and be able to drive. While on his way to this yard job he was traveling on US Hwy 19 when a man changing lanes clipped the drivers side rear end of Jessie's truck. The hit caused Jessie's truck to spin until it hit the median, when the tires of the truck hit the median it caused the truck to begin to flip end over end three times. One the second flip Jessie was ejected out of the truck through the drivers door window. He was thrown 40 yards from the truck. When paramedics arrived at the scene Jessie did not have a pulse nor was he breathing. The paradmedics preformed CPR to him and transported him 50 miles to the hospital.
Once at the hospital the doctors said the following 24 hours would be critical. Jessie had swelling on the brain, a broken neck, a broken back, both femurs were broken, a cracked scull and to top it off both lungs were collapsed. He had road rash on the right side of his face several lacerations to his face and neck. They put him on a ventilator and we had to wait and pray.
The first night at the hospital that is what everyone did. There were at least 40 people standing vigil in the icu waiting room. Waiting and praying.