Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 26, 1992 TAG: 9202260065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HURDSFIELD, N.D. LENGTH: Medium
TEEN-AGER RETURNS TO FARM WITH ARMS AFTER "MAJOR MESS"
Six weeks after his severed arms were reattached, 18-year-old John Thompson left a hospital Tuesday, saying "I came down in three pieces and I'm going home in one."Thompson was flown by helicopter from a Minneapolis-area hospital to the the family farm in central North Dakota where his arms were torn off in a farm machinery accident.
He said he was looking forward to a chance to rest and play with his dog - and to eating a piece of home-cooked fried chicken.
"I fixed roast beef for supper tonight. I'm sorry," responded his mother, Karen, laughing.
Thompson stopped in Harvey, about 25 miles from his farm, for a checkup at the hospital, where he was pronounced in good shape. Then he met with reporters before he was flown home. His family asked for privacy after he got to the farm.
Thompson waved off a wheelchair and walked into the Harvey hospital unassisted, to the cheers of 40 spectators.
"It's good to be back," he told the onlookers, who included all nine of Thompson's senior classmates at Bowdon High School.
Staff and patients were looking out the windows as Thompson arrived. Dr. Charles Nyhus, who checked him over, said he was in "very good general condition."
As he prepared for the last leg of his trip home, Thompson looked down at his arms.
"I can't believe they put it all back together like this," he said. "It was a major mess."
Thompson's cousin, Terri Kline, said the family had made no major adjustments at home for him, except to replace all dial telephones with push-button phones.
The teen-ager was working alone on the farm Jan. 11 when a power implement used to drive farm machinery ripped off his arms below the shoulder. He staggered 400 feet to the unoccupied house, using his mouth to open doors and punch out a phone call for help with a pencil.
Surgeons at North Memorial Medical Center near Minneapolis reattached his arms, but they're unsure whether he'll ever regain the use of his hands.
Asked what gave him the strength to struggle to the house, Thompson said, "I didn't want to lay there and die."
Thompson said the prospect of returning home was "pretty scary."
"I want to go home but it's a little early," he said. "I just don't feel right. I get tired pretty easy."
His surgeon, Dr. Allen Van Beek, said Thompson is able to feed himself and care for his personal needs and is learning to use a voice-activated computer that was donated to help with his rehabilitation.
While he may regain use of his hands, doctors say that will take more time and more operations. Van Beek said Thompson probably will have muscle-transfer surgery in three to four months to improve his elbow movement.
Thompson plans to return to high school Monday for about three hours a day. He showed he is able to lift both arms, and told reporters he has feeling down to his elbows.
"I wish it'd come back faster, but it'll take about a year," he said.
He had some advice for others recovering from severe injuries.
"Just don't get down," he said. "If you get down it will be really hard to get back up."
Thompson said he's lost about 20 pounds since the accident but joked that he expects no problems regaining the weight.
"My mom's a good cook," he said.