Injured bull rider Lee Akin scheduled to be transferred out of ICU
By Ag Weekly
Tuesday, May 1, 2007 5:24 PM CDT
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Doctors at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Ala. have gotten injured bull rider Lee Akin’s seizures under control and are optimistic he can be moved out of the intensive care unit into a private room on April 30, Dr. Will Smith said Friday.
Akin, 32, suffered a traumatic brain injury March 8 after he was bucked off the bull Dick Dasterdly and stepped on during the Southeastern Livestock Exposition and Rodeo. He has undergone two surgeries to relieve swelling in his brain and is facing a lengthy recovery period.
"He responds to his wife’s voice sometimes by slowly turning his head toward her," Dr. Smith said, "but he does not speak and he does not respond to verbal commands to squeeze your hand or move his fingers. He can move his left leg and both arms, but it is not purposeful movement."
Akin, of Weatherford, Okla., qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2001, finishing third in the world standings with earnings of $135,166 behind Blue Stone and Cody Hancock.
The PRCA Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund is supplying funds for the family’s living expenses, but the greater concern is covering the cost of medical treatment. Donations can be sent, payable to Pro Bull Riding Outreach, at American Bucking Bull Inc., Attn.: Lee Akin Benefit, 713 NE Highway 66, Sayre, OK 73662.
Akin’s wife, Mary, has asked that all get well cards be mailed to the hospital instead of their home in Oklahoma -addressed to Lee Akin, NSICU #1, Baptist Medical Center South, 2105 E. South Blvd., Montgomery, AL 36116. The hospital has requested that no more flowers be sent.
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