A Texas man who was hiking in Canada with his son suffered a horrific “freak accident” after falling down and landing on a stick that went all the way through his eye and punctured his brain.
Edward Steinkamp was hiking in British Columbia, Canada this month with his son, Bret, on what was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both men. Sadly, however, the amazing event turned tragic just days into the journey, when the elder Steinkamp fell and severely injured himself.
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According to a GoFundMe page published last week by a friend of the Steinkamp family named Susan Lowe, Ed suffered nearly fatal injuries after falling during the hike on the West Coast Trail and landing on a stick. In an apparent one-in-a-million shot, the stick reportedly punctured the Allen, Texas native’s eye and went clear through into his brain.
OMG!
As Lowe describes in the GoFundMe, the father-son duo’s rural location and the immediate severity of the gruesome injury created a shocking and dangerous situation:
“On April 30th, Ed left for a lifetime opportunity to hike with his son Bret in Victoria, Canada. What started as a beautiful experience with stunning views turned suddenly tragic a few days later when Ed had a freak accident and fell. He ended up with a stick puncturing his brain through his eye and needed to be airlifted by Pacheedahl First National Guardians to Victoria General Hospital. It took them 6 hours and a refueling by the national guard before they could get him.”
The GoFundMe page continued, adding:
“Ed was rushed into surgery and hospitalized in ICU. He has been moved into their Neuro Trauma Ward, where he is currently under the care of a neurosurgeon. Ed is now fighting infection and is in much pain. It has been determined he has lost sight in one eye and is fighting an ongoing fever.”
And according to the page, both Bret and his wife Wendy are there by his side still:
“His wife Wendy flew out immediately and is staying at a hotel near the hospital along with Bret. The costs for this will be enormous, from the airlift rescue and the medics who attended to him, to the brain surgery and needed drugs, the ambulance rides to the Ophthalmologist, the CT scans, as well as the lengthy and undetermined time he will need to remain hospitalized in the special ward…”
We can’t even imagine going through something like that.
Our hearts go out to the Steinkamp family in this terrible time of need.
You can support their GoFundMe effort at the link HERE.
[Image via GoFundMe]
