Justin Beddingfield is pictured with his parents Matt and Ashley Beddingfield. Last week Justin underwent six hours of surgery after breaking one of his lumber vertebrae following a sledding accident.
WANDA SOUTHERLAND
Contributor
A pristine blanket of freshly fallen snow – perfect for sledding – was the ideal draw last week for two teenage best friends. The morning began by Weston Short, 19, calling Justin Beddingfield, 19, inviting him to go with him and his dad to his uncle’s farm off Bugger Hollow Road. Justin said it wasn’t even a hill, but the terrain offered enough of a slope for some carefree sledding.
Sharing the sled, Justin was in front. Their second time down the hill they hit a snow-covered ditch which threw Weston off the sled. The impact flipped Justin up and over. He said he started screaming “I can’t move,” and for 30 to 40 seconds he felt like his legs were on fire. “It was the scariest moment of my life,” Justin said.
“You know when you get a phone call from your wild child and it starts off with ‘Mama don’t panic, but …’, well, but that turned into the worse,” said Justin’s mother, Ashley. “By the time we got to him, he couldn’t feel his legs.”
Ashley said it took approximately 35 minutes for the Lincoln County paramedics and volunteer firefighters to arrive. She said she and Matt, Justin’s dad, put the paramedics equipment in the back of their truck and took them to Justin. After working with Justin, Ashley said they couldn’t determine if anything was broken. Once he was stabilized and on the stretcher, paramedics placed him in the back of the truck. Once in the ambulance and after “some debating about road conditions,” Ashley said it was determined they would take him to Huntsville Hospital. She said they felt Huntsville Hospital was better equipped to handle trauma cases. After being checked out a Lincoln Medical, Weston was released.
Jaxson Beddingfield gives his big brother Justin a hug from his hospital bed at Huntsville Hospital.
As he was prepared for surgery, Ashley said they were told surgery would take between two to three hours. Due to there being more damage than the CAT scan and MRI showed, Justin was in surgery for six hours. L1 of his lumbar vertebrae was broken and L3 was completely crushed. She said rods and screws were put in at the top and bottom of L3; crushed bone was scraped and removed off his nerves; torn tissue around the nerves was repaired. “Justin did damage the nerves,” Ashley said. “But they can’t say what’s permanent or what’s reversible.”
Ashley said the surgeon told them Justin has a 50/50 chance of being able to walk again. “He said only time will tell because nerves take so long to heal. He’s hoping with intense therapy, it will spark the nerves back online.” She said doctors will recommend a hospital outside of Huntsville that specializes in spinal cord trauma. Therapy is expected to take a year and a half.
Ashley describes Justin, the second oldest of six children, as her “wild child” who keeps her on her toes. “He’s outgoing; loves the outdoors – hunting, fishing, boating.” She said when he was 8 years old he broke his arm – twice- and in the same place. His hand and nose have been broken; his eye was knocked out of socket and he broke his leg during a motorcycle accident.
“I told him he needs to come up with a different phrase than “Momma, don’t panic, but… ,” Ashley said. The family is asking for prayers. “We have a long road ahead of us,” she said.
“Prayers help more than people realize,” Justin said, acknowledging how quickly life can change. He said he remains positive for the days ahead.
Ashley has organized a gofund.me page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/tdr3hz-transportation-and-medical-expenses) for transportation and medical expenses.
The Marion Tribune – February 1, 2024
