Released Sept. 12, 2007
WESTMORELAND, Kan. - Where do you go for help? Well, that depends. Today, in Kansas Profile, we´ll meet a man who suffered a horse accident in a remote rural setting where going for help was not easy.
Bruce Fouts and his family live in a rural area in the hills north of Westmoreland which has a population of 628 people.
Bruce grew up near Dover. He loves the outdoor farm life. Bruce says, "I grew up riding horses and taught my kids to not be scared of them." That would help later on. Bruce served as a state FFA officer, graduated from K-State, and went into banking in Kansas City.
In 2000, Bruce joined Commerce Bank in Manhattan. He and his wife Bobbie looked for a rural place to raise their family and settled north of Westmoreland. Bruce is now working in the operations department for Westar Energy.
On July 24, 2007, Bruce took his son and daughter out to do some practicing prior to an upcoming horse show, locking the house and leaving his cell phone behind. As they rode, Bruce´s 10 year old son Wyatt made a comment about being careful. Bruce talked to him about what he should do in the event of an emergency. Then they went ahead with practice, but Wyatt´s horse started acting odd. (They later speculated that the horse had a mini-stroke.)
Bruce got on Wyatt´s horse and it went crazy. It jumped up and over backwards, landed with full force on Bruce, and rolled across his lower body. Wyatt realized he would have to go for help so he got back on his horse - the same one that had injured Bruce - and rode away as his father had taught him.
Bruce´s daughter Hannah, who is six, stayed behind. To protect her daddy, she moved her horse between the other horses and where he was lying on the ground.
Meanwhile, Wyatt rode nearly two miles to the neighbors, who happened to be at home and called 911. Ultimately, a helicopter airlifted Bruce to St. Luke´s Hospital in Kansas City, where Bruce´s sister Kim works as a nurse. Bruce had a broken pelvis and numerous other injuries. The doctors repaired the damage in a seven hour surgery.
After 21 days in the hospital, Bruce was moved to his parent´s place near Westmoreland. His attitude remains upbeat and positive, although he is expected to be in a wheelchair for up to five months and in rehab for a year.
Bruce´s family are heroes. Wyatt and Hannah were very brave and helped their father in a time of need. Back in school, Wyatt told his music teacher that he was looking forward to Christmas this year, but it wasn´t for the usual reasons. Wyatt said, "The doctors say my daddy will be standing by then."
Bobbie and Bruce´s sister Kim are providing Bruce good care, along with his parents. Bobbie says, "The hand of God was in this. It´s unusual for the neighbors to even be home at that hour, and the hospital provided wonderful care. The kids were great, and we can´t count all the blessings and kindnesses we´ve received."
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http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/sty/KSProfile.htm
Contact: Ron Wilson, (785) 532-7690, rwilson@ksu.edu
