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BRANDON BAURES
Farm life is a way of life for many families in north central Wisconsin. But for a
family in Thorp, Wisconsin, July 14, 1998 was almost the end of life for a 14-year-old boy.
On that hot summer day, 14-year-old Brandon Baures was helping to finish up the second
crop of hay using an unfamiliar wagon. The load was almost full and he put the last bale
on the wagon. As soon as he got the bale in place, his foot slipped off the edge,
causing him to fall right in the track of the wagon tires. Before he knew it, he had a
two-ton wagon of hay on his chest.
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Brandon Baures
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"That is a feeling that I’ll never forget," shares Brandon. "All of the air inside of
my lungs was squeezed out of me in an instant. I think God sent down an angel and
helped me to escape from underneath the wagon before the second wheel ran me over."
Brandon’s injuries were serious and the ambulance was called. "Before the ambulance
arrived, I remember telling my mom, ‘Don’t worry about me,’" remembers Brandon. "I heard
the ambulance coming. The EMTs gave me oxygen and put me on a board, stabilizing me
for the ride on the Spirit of Marshfield helicopter. Then I could hear the helicopter
coming toward us. Two paramedics came off of the helicopter. And that is the last
thing I can remember."
Joy Erb-Moser, former Spirit Flight Nurse and now EMS Coordinator remembers, "Brandon
was seriously injured. We started an IV, gave Brandon medication and inserted a
breathing tube, and flew back to the emergency department."
At Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, Brandon went into surgery. "I had two
collapsed lungs, a broken rib and my heart was displaced on the wrong side of my chest,"
explains Brandon. "They also said that the lower portion of my heart was damaged.
The surgeon didn’t give my parents much hope on my survival."
But Brandon did survive and on July 22 was moved out of the Pediatric Intensive
Care Unit (PICU) onto the regular floor. "What a blessing," says Brandon. "Being moved
is the first thing I could remember since hearing that heavenly sound of the Spirit."
Following an extensive recovery, Brandon was discharged from the Hospital on July 25.
"There is no way that I could ever thank all of the people that worked on me in the
Hospital, especially all of those who prayed for me while I was having the biggest
struggle of my life," shares Brandon.
"Brandon was truly a miracle child that summer," says Joy. "And is now a young man
with a bright future."
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