Subtle Update

Doseone of Subtle has written us to explain about his band's accident last week, and the current status of band-member Dax, who spent the last week in the ICU. It's a pretty intense story.

Adam (Doseone) Drucker writes:

On Thursday February 24th at approximately 1 a.m. in Atlantic, Iowa,
our tour van hit "black ice" and overturned off of the highway 80. There were
seven of us aboard, we were doing 40 miles per hour and slowing down. Patrick Scott was driving the vehicle when it hit the stretch of "black ice", which
caused us to skid out of control. Patrick temporarily regained control of the
vehicle only to be pulled off the highway by the weight of the equipment trailer we were towing.

Fortunately for us, the weight of the trailer then saved all our lives by stopping the vehicle from rolling over multiple times. The crash was 10 seconds long. All of us were wearing our seat belts except for Alex who was lying down in the back seat. We all hit against the roof of the van upon impact. Six of us sustained minor cuts and bruises. Dax, however, broke his neck upon impact. His head was then pinned beneath the front row of passenger seats. Upon dislodging his foot from what looked to be an unnatural position, Dax's air-way was cleared and he began to breath and communicate with us. He told us immediately that he could not feel his lower body.

We were met quickly by another motorist, the local sheriff, and an EMT team. The EMT's and firefighters carefully removed Dax from the overturned vehicle. He was then taken to Cas County hospital in Atlantic, Iowa. One hour later he was emergency air lifted by helicopter to Creighton University Hospital in Omaha Nebraska for X-rays and treatment.

(In a 15-minute window three trailer trucks and another passenger van all
overturned on the same 10-mile stretch of highway and black ice.)

Dax is currently recovering at Creighton University Hospital in the intensive
care unit where he will remain for the next three weeks at least. Fortunately
Dax is completely covered by his health insurance provided by Amoeba Music in
Berkeley California. So all of his care is being paid for and will continue to
be covered through out his healing process. Both Dax's mother and father (Myrna Anderson and Herman Pierson) were contacted as soon as possible and
arrived at the hospital in Omaha within 24 hours.

Dax is currently experiencing paralysis from his nipple line down. His
paralysis is very severe the muscles used to breathe and operate the lungs are
located below the nipple line. As a result he is on a ventilator to help him
breath. The ventilator is a tube that runs through Dax's mouth and into his lungs
to facilitate respiration. It≠s presence coupled with Dax's inability to use his hands makes communication for Dax very difficult at the present time. Dax has remained conscious and cognizant throughout the entire process.

While broken bones can be mended, the spinal cord does NOT regenerate itself.
There is new research into ways this might be achieved -specifically stem cell
research - and a good many of these avenues of research are very promising. For now, however, we can pray for a miracle - and miracles DO happen -while at the same time learning to deal with the reality of Dax's new situation.

On the 25th at 10 am Dax was taken in for surgery. His 4th and 6th vertebrae
were fused in order to create a functional neck for Dax. All broken bonedebris
was removed and the spinal chord where his c5 broke was encased in a cage of
sorts that will protect it and allowed the 4th and 6th vertebrae to be fused on
either end of it. The operation was successful and there were no complications.
Since then the swelling around the injury has decreased.

Dax's injury is now contained and the healing process has begun. The first
major hurdle is to have Dax heal enough to be taken off of the ventilator. If
this happens he will be given a tracheotomy. The tracheotomy will enable Dax to
move his lips and communicate with those caring for him. This step will be huge for his mental and physical comfort and will take all the strength and love he and those who cherish him can provide in the coming weeks.

After his stay in intensive care Dax will be moved to a rehabilitation center
for the rest of his recovery. It will most likely be in Texas as to be close to
his mother who will be caring for him through this most difficult leg of his
recovery. The rehabilitation process could range anywhere from 2 to 24 months.
The process will be long and challenging for Dax, his strength, and the strength
of those around him, both near and far.

In case it is unclear...Dax's mind is completely healthy and everything above
his nipple line is in perfect working condition, so he can shrug his shoulders
and move his arms slightly. His eyes are wide and his heart is strong. On March 2nd: Dax was taken off of the ventilator...he is now talking and smiling.

To all of you who are sending him love and prayer, keep doing so it is working,
and all of our concern and love remains utterly necessary. The physical healing
process for this type of injury takes serious time patience and courage.

We are now organizing/preparing for Dax's immediate future care and rehabilitation as well as fund raising benefits. We appreciate everyone's
patience as we prepare for the long road ahead of Dax. It will be important for
all who love him to be present and offer aid not only while the tragedy is
before us but when recovery is before us as well.

And recovery may be some time from now. As a result we will be establishing a
web site for Dax that will allow everyone to enter his or her contact information for future contact and aid. This site will also provide health update information as it becomes available to us. As you can imagine Dax's care, healing, treatment, and return to his "normal" life will be very expensive. We will do our best to keep all those concerned updated on both his health and how they can help, in the form of both monetary donation and sheer love.

There is a crowd of beautiful people gathering behind Dax... The overwhelming
outpouring of love and concern for him has already begun to work its magic on
his mental and physical strength...so please keep it coming...and thank you all.

All flowers cards and positive thoughts can be addressed to:

Dax Pierson
c/o Creighton University Hospital
601 N. 30th St.
Omaha, NE 68131