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Updated News
7/15/08

Well the latest on Franklin is good news! He is out of ICU and on the 9th floor at Children's Hospital. They are planning to move him to Baylor Hospital in Dallas in a week or so. They tried to remove the feeding tube but he cannot yet do solid food so they put the feeding tube back in. They took the big oxygen tube out and now just has a little one on. They have started therpy with him. And he does seem to be in good spirits, laughing and smiling. The major thing is there is still no word on the amount of brain damage but it is looking good.

On a side note our Church, Bogata Missionary Baptist, is planning a silent auction to raise some money for the family and I was able to get my work (Lowe's) to donate to the auction a Hitachi 4x8 Sander. We are still taking PayPal donation at the link below. Since the accident on June 20th we have raised over $300 to help them offset the cost of being in Dallas. Not much but every little bit helps!


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Full Story

I have a sad story to report.

My youngest daughters best friend, a 6 year old boy named Franklin was involved in a freak accident yesterday and is not doing well.

He was riding his bicycle with a friend and ventured a little to close to a busy road. Not in the road mind you and normally would not have been a problem. Unfortunately a pick-up pulling a horse trailer was traveling down the road at that time. Unknown to the driver, the gate on the trailer had come undone and was swinging behind the trailer. When he was near the little boy fate stepped in and opened the gate to it fullest position. The gate hit the poor boy at at least 45 miles per hour.

He was knocked off his bicycle and was unconscious when his grandmother reached him. The driver of the pick-up was unaware of what had happened. (More on him later) When a licensed nurse, who just happened to drive up, got to the child her medical instincts took over. Worse yet she knew the little boy. We live in a small town.

He did regain consciousness before the ambulance arrived on scene but when I was there, it did not look good.

Later through the grapevine so to speak. We found out he had a least one fracture of his leg and a severe head wound. There was brain matter around the opening in his tiny skull. The ambulance transported him down the road to an open field where they were met by Care-Flight. They Helicoptered him to Children's Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, over 100 miles away.

I waited until now to post this because we were waiting word on his condition. My wife spoke with his grandmother today. She met him at the hospital. He has two fractures of his left leg and a major head wound. He is not in a coma but they are keeping him heavily sedated. They are keeping his body temperature low to reduce swelling in his head.

He is still listed as critical and they, at this point, are not very hopeful for a recovery. The doctors have warned the family if he does survive he may have some amount of brain damage.

We have this poor child in several prayer circles here local in our town through at least 3 different churches and several bible groups. I also want those who read this to please add Little Franklin to your Prayer list.

As for the driver....he was tracked down and was unaware of what had happened. I have not heard much about them. Franklin's grandmother does want him to know she is not mad for it was not his fault, she does realize it was an accident. The driver's wife did not take to news of what had happened very well, paramedics had to sedate her.

I will keep this Journal on my main page until there is a closure. Be it good or bad.

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**UPDATE**
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Just got word that Franklin's condition is improving. The swelling in his head is still an issue but his condition has stabilized. He is still in ICU but is doing better. They have completed the surgery on his leg and that is looking a lot better.

6/29/08
Franklin's condition is not all that great. He has come down with Pneumonia, although the doctors say that is to be expected with his head injury.

The Franklin's Fund now has an account with Guaranty Bond Bank in Bogata, Texas but donations can be made in his name (Franklin Slade Herring Jr.) at any of their branches. Or you can donate via PayPal by following the Franklin's Fund link at the bottom of this page.

Will update again as soon as we hear more.

7/5/08
We visited Franklin yesterday. He is starting to improve. His brain activity was increasing so they had removed the monitors attached to his head. They took him off the medicine that was keeping him in a coma like state. He is still on heavy pain meds therefore they said it would be 3 to 4 days before he starts to wake up. They took out several staples from the incision on his head. There are still quite a few staples in his head though. His leg is doing very well and they don't think there will be any problems there.

More to come in a few days!

7/10/08
We just got word from Franklin's Grandmother. Franklin is awake and moving around in bed a bit. They have removed most of the wires and tubes. They still have a feeding tube in though. All signs are starting to look better!

Please keep Praying as they are still not sure of the amount of brain damage.

7/15/08

Well the latest on Franklin is good news! He is out of ICU and on the 9th floor at Children's Hospital. They are planning to move him to Baylor Hospital in Dallas in a week or so. They tried to remove the feeding tube but he cannot yet do solid food so they put the feeding tube back in. They took the big oxygen tube out and now just has a little one on. They have started therpy with him. And he does seem to be in good spirits, laughing and smiling. The major thing is there is still no word on the amount of brain damage but it is looking good.

On a side note our Church, Bogata Missionary Baptist, is planning a silent auction to raise some money for the family and I was able to get my work (Lowe's) to donate to the auction a Hitachi 4x8 Sander. We are still taking PayPal donation at the link below. Since the accident on June 20th we have raised over $300 to help them offset the cost of being in Dallas. Not much but every little bit helps!

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**DONATE**
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We have set up a collection to help Franklin's family out during this troubling time. If you would like to help out simply click the PayPal link to donate what ever you can, even $1.00 is fine.

All who donate will get a link in this journal. And those who Donate $10 or more I will give a 1 month feature in my journal.

If you don't want the family to know your name be sure to leave a message when you are on the PayPal page else all name will be put in a cards for the family!



I will also update it as we hear more.
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More News to come!