Watford City’s Talented Rodeo Teen Survives A Horrific Ordeal
Badlands Circuit Finals & Rodeo this weekend in Minot
His name is Tel, he is 19 years old - and he is one of three kids from the proud parents of Kadie and Jarvis Sorenson. Tel was home in Watford City practicing for the Badlands Circuit Finals this weekend in Minot. We watched and read all the reports of heavy winds and dangerous fire conditions - one of which started 6 miles south of Watford. Jarvis had started building a fire break for the volunteer fire department. Preparations for fighting a fire are always intense, and with 50-70 mile-an-hour winds, anything can happen - and it did.
While trying to extinguish hotspots...
... Tel was hit in the head with a pressurized cap. About 120 pounds. It was off of a pressurized fire tank unit. It fractured his skull, right by his temple. Life threatening.
Try and imagine yourself or a family member seriously hurt, waiting for 4 hours to take you to the hospital. Kadie posted the terrifying events she and her family went through yesterday on Facebook:
"...because airplanes could not fly with the wind and our ambulances couldn’t leave because of the fires. We finally arrived in Minot around 9:30 by ambulance. They had a neurosurgeon waiting and took him back stat. The surgeon removed all the bone fragments quickly to avoid infection. They were worried about infection to the brain so Tel had to spend the night in the ICU. They did another CT scan and Dr. Woods his neurosurgeon came with the best news that Tel’s CT scan looked great and he is healing the way he is supposed to! They are now weaning him off pain meds to get him more awake. Hopefully, by this evening, we can see his million-dollar smile"
Today Tel is slowly gaining back his appetite - and can't wait to get out of the hospital - extremely disappointed that he will miss the Badlands Circuit Finals. Sadie and Jarvis appreciate everyone’s kind words, calls, and messages. I talked with her on the phone this morning, she told me all about Dr. Wood. "He's my hero - with the situation the doctor had in front of him - so confident, so sure of his ability to make everyone feel better. He saved my boy"
"They still say he will make a 100% recovery!"
"The surgeon removed all the bone fragments quickly to avoid infection. They were worried about infection to brain so Tel had to spend the night in the ICU. They did another CT scan and Dr. Woods his neurosurgeon came with the best news that Tel’s CT scan looked great and he is healing the way he is supposed to! "They still say he will make a 100% recovery! We are so thankful for the Watford City Er and The Minot hospital!"
Get some rest Tel - Be with your family! Your future looks great to me, there will be plenty of time for your talents to shine!
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Gallery Credit: Stacker