Hey all,
We visited Bob today and his heart rate and breathing where strong. His swelling is still down and the road looks much steadier for him. Shirley is holding up well, I don't know how she is doing it but she is doing great. Her road will begin to get tougher as we all depart. Thank goodness Karen will be down on Friday.
Lisa and I visited the airport where the accident took place and I am now certain it was an accident based on pilot error - as is the NTSB. I'll not bore you with the long version but to say the least Bob is one lucky son of... gun. I do not see how the plane could have come down any better than it did. Most of the energy was absorbed by the first tree that he was not able to clear; his plane then appeared to have angled down clipping smaller trees with his wings and tail section absorbing more energy and then dropping into a semi-dry creek bed with a soft mud bottom. There are picture perfect landings and this is not one of them but if you're going to crash - I can not see any way it could have gone better for him. In my minds eye Bob should not have survived the crash, perhaps he has been saved for a higher purpose.
The only other thing I have is an email from Karen I just received.
Have a great night!
Bruce
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FYI
This was sent to me from Karen, Kati is her daughter and works for Continental. The email is dated today but I believe the email/conversation took place this past Friday.
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Bruce,
This message came from Kati today, she was in Houston and had found out that there is a Continental Pilots forum, we can not get into this......She found a captain who got her in and she emailed what she could to me I thank there
is one more, I am simply going through all my emails in order. This is
from the pilot that has had similar injuries and it is a report from today!
----Sorry for leaving email address's exposed tot he public...
Today I visited Bob Milne at Hermann Memorial Hospital and met with his wife Shirley ,his two sons and their spouses. We chatted a bit to get to know one another and then began to discuss what they and Bob may expect in the near and long term.
During our discussions Bob's doctor joined us and gave a frank discussion as to Bob's condition, progress and outlook. Bob was previously diagnosed with 40% burns, but that has been revised to 30%, so that is good. His injuries are very similar to my own some six years ago, but he also has serious deep tissue injuries (3rd degree) to the left side of his scalp, running from his left eyebrow and over his head. That tissue will eventually be removed and replacement tissue grafted in place of it.
Bob's hands and arms have deep tissue burns, along with his face. His face will scar, but that is manageable. His hands and arms require grafting, with the right arm and hand being grafted today. The donor skin was taken from his legs. On Tuesday the left arm and hand will be grafted. Also on Tuesday will be sort of a corner to turn, as that is where the doctors will up his chances to recover if he continues to progress.
He is still on a respirator, but shows signs of trying to breathe on his own. That is good, say the docs. His left lung looks clear, but the right lung shows signs of fluid and infection and is not as functional as the left lung. The right lung, although retaining some fluids (from the lung damage) appears to be getting better. Bob is no longer on 100% O2, as his lung functions and blood oxygen levels are in acceptable ranges. The respirator is now delivering 45% O2, which is really good news in terms of lung function.
Bob will likely remain in an induced coma for another two weeks, depending on his progress. He is by no means out of the woods, even though he is stable and progressing normally. His sons will have to return to active duty in Guam and Iraq in the next two weeks.
Sherry and I have access to Bob's medical status, so we will try to provide you updates as they are pertinent and timely. We may still need the occasional driver for Bob if his wife needs a break, so we will put that out if needed. I researched the MetroBus schedules and printed out their routes and bus numbers so that while Bob's sons are here they can help Bob's wife learn the buses and relieve everyone else the task of a daily drive.
Right now the rest seems to be up to Bob. But as he fights his way through this we will keep you up to speed. Thank all of you for caring about a fallen brother!