Local kid injured in sledding accident

A Libby boy is lucky to be alive after his neck was pierced by a two-inch thick stick while sledding near Libby Creek Thursday evening.

Dave Patterson, 13, was being pulled on a sled behind a pick-up truck when his sled went up a snow berm on the side of the road and a branch, which was buried in the snow, went through his neck and came out through his tricep.

Mark Thom was with Patterson at the time of the accident and said they had been up and down that road several times pulling the sleds without incident.

“It was just one of those freak accidents,” Thom said.

Patterson’s mother, Bobbie Patterson, said after the stick went into her son’s neck he stood up and told the Thom and the others, “I don’t think I’m OK.”

Libby Volunteer Ambulance responded to the 9-1-1 call and stabilized Patterson, cutting the stick away from the wound but leaving it in place and applying pressure to minimize bleeding. An air ambulance was dispatched from Kalispell.

Due to weather concerns, the helicopter was unable to make it into the Libby area, so the ambulance drove to a landing zone near Happy’s Inn on U.S. Highway 2, where they met the helicopter and transferred Patterson.

A surgeon and vascular surgeon were waiting at the hospital for Patterson’s arrival, and managed to remove the stick. Despite the location of the wound, no arteries, vital organs or even nerves were damaged in the accident.

“The surgeon said she couldn’t have surgically placed it there without causing damage,” Bobbie Patterson said. “He’s going to have a heck of a scar, buth there aren’t going to be any long-lasting effects.”

“They said it was just a miracle that it didn’t hit any arteries or nerves or anything like that,” Thom said. “I’m just glad he’s still with us.”

Bobbie Patterson said she was extremely grateful for the first responders who took care of her son.

“Everybody was unbelievable,” she said. “The police, the ambulance, the helicopter folks and the doctors and nurses were amazing.”

The youngster will likely be in the hospital for a couple of days for evaluation and to make sure there are no infections or unseen issues, but he is expected to make a full recovery.