April 25, 2014

~  Written By Naomi Harm ~ 

Jacob is continuing through with several more surgeries for his lower extremities. Each ankle was rebuilt and reconstructed yesterday through another 3 hours of surgery. He now has the casts removed and his ankles are rewrapped in support badges to heal. 

The UMC hospital that Jake is at is suppose to be a Trauma 1 facility. Even though it may be a Trauma Center it does not compare or provide quality of care to our top rated Trauma Centers in the Midwest. We have seen first hand some extremely questionably practices with the care of our son that have taken place in this UMC facility along with the partnership of the Army ortho care division for our son. We as parents are very concerned. I will not go into detail of the questionable practices at this time, but if any of you are faced with a trauma situation with a family member, make sure to question and question often if something does not feel right, look right, or employees will not give you a response to questions asked. 

Please note we are dealing with this ordeal in El Paso, TX. This is where Caucasians are the minority and we feel and have been treated like the minority, and as second class citizen. US Soldiers stationed in this area as well are not respected and not treated with respect. It is reverse racism that is projected throughout El Paso, TX businesses, the hospitals and care facilities, and a great portion of the community. We as US citizens are appalled by these types of actions taking place in this part of the country. 

Due to the severity of Jacob's condition and lack of adequate care for long term TBI care and PT rehabilitation, the UMC hospital, UMC social worker and the persistence/request of Jeff and Naomi, Jacob's parents, - the hospital has agreed that Jacob needs to be moved back to Minnesota for quality care, and needed support and assistance from his family.  We are in the process of working virtually with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and TBI Nero facility in St. Paul to get this in the works when he is stable enough to move and endure a helicopter ride.

More info to follow by next week, until then- love your family, tell them often and make time for those good old fashion family meals/dinners/gatherings together to catch up on life.