Freak Accident Injures Missionary: Missionary Needs Prayers and Support of Members

Even though a day of special fasting has past on 5 July 2009 we all should pray for Elder Zerin Peterson who was injured while serving on his mission in the Colorado Springs Mission. Elder Zerin Petersen was injured in a freak Slip-N-Slide accident that has damaged his spinal column. I for one am praying for his recovery. Loralee Carey has put up a blog Elder Zerin Petersen to track his six month treatment and recovery. I checked the Deseret News and Church News for any notice about this sad event but was unable to find anything.

Loralee Carey reported on her family blog Life with the Carey the sad incident:

We've all heard about the rule of three's, right?

How life gets on a roll; maybe you write up 3 great sales in a row,

find 3 great deals in the grocery store,

or you manage to see 3 friends you haven't seen in a while, all in one week. . .

Then there is the bad stuff . . . the rule of three applies here, too.

In this past month, our ward (the local LDS church congregation) suffered the loss of three of our members. One person was quite elderly, lived a good long life, and was suffering from health issues. Another was a chronically ill man who had suffered quite extensively in his final years. The third was a dear friend to all who knew him, who died suddenly and tragically in a motocycle accident.

What do you do, how can you feel, when the fourth bad thing happens . . . ?

Is it an upset of the normal order of things, or is it the first of a new set of 3's?

I think it is time to pray for miracles . . .

Monday we received word that a good friend of my son, Chad, and one of the missionaries from our ward, Elder Zerin Petersen, had been injured in what anyone would describe as a freak accident. A split second action, without time to think of the consequences, and a young man's path was changed from missionary service, to being the recipient of an outpouring of love and service. This vibrant young man, neck broken, spinal cord injured, is now lying in a hospital bed. Our faith and love and prayers hold the hope that he will recover from this injury.

Our stake, (the regional LDS congregations made up of a groups of wards) and the two stakes that are in the Colorado Springs Mission boundaries, will be fasting in his behalf this Sunday.

There are a few amazing details to this story:

This young man is the son of the Boy Scouts of America executive in our area. As you would expect, he was raised to enjoy the Scouting program and all it has to offer. He is an Eagle Scout, with all of his Palms earned, and has taken many First Aid courses along the way. He was also trained and taught as a Lifeguard at Scout Camp, and taught others to be lifeguards as well.

As soon as he landed on his neck he tried to get up. He immediately collapsed and realized that he had a spinal cord injury. Would he have known that without the training that he had received? Likely he would have not.

He called out to the other missionaries that were present and rushing to his aid and said "I have a spinal injury. Don't touch me!" Clear thinking by this amazing young man likely saved his life and himself from further injury.

My husband, upon receiving a call about the accident, rushed out to the Boy Scout camp where his parents, Chris and Mari-Beth Petersen, and his brother, Javan, work during the summer, to deliver the horrifying news. With a heavy heart he told the shocked parents the information he had been given. Elder Petersen's parents, rushed home, packed, and flew out to Denver early the next morning.

A little information about this young man's parents. Chris Petersen, works as the regional executive of the Boy Scouts of America in our area. There are young men throughout the Northwest and and the state of Alaska that have, with the support of his wife, Mari-Beth, been affected by the work that he does. Chris has touched the lives of literally thousands of young men and helped them grow into knowledgeable, hardworking, and productive young men. He works long hours during nine months of the year, and in the summers he lives, in a small, dusty cabin at Boy Scout camp, and directs the activities that occur there. As his children have grown, they and his wife have joined him to work there during the summers as well. He is also known as "Abe", and if you have ever met him, you would know exactly why.

The members, missionaries, and the mission Presidency of the Colorado Springs mission and the Denver area have pulled together to coordinate housing, transportation, and everything else that the Petersen's might be in need of during their stay. This may seem a miracle in itself, but to members of the Church and the people that care about the Petersen's and the LDS missionaries, this is the way we look after and take care of each other. We are blessed to be a part of a loving ward family, and members of a church that considers one another to be brothers and sisters; literally, a family.

Another amazing detail - the Denver/Colorado Springs area is home of the Swedish Medical Center, a Level One trauma center and ranks among the top Neuroscience programs. It is also designated as a Neuroscience Center of Excellence (COE). Adjacent to the hospital is the Craig Hospital, which is an internationally known leader of spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation. One of the world's best neurosurgeons operated on Elder Petersen. There is no better place for him to be in the country, and quite possibly in the world, for him to be to get the care that he now needs.

His recovery will take some time. At this point he can move very little, and has only some sensation in his hands. There has been trama to his spinal cord, and the swelling to the spinal cord from the injury and the surgery to repair the vertibrae (C4) is the most critical factor right now. Four to five months has been mentioned for his stay in Colorado for physical therapy.

There has been an outpouring of people wanting to help. Their home needs some work that they have not had the time or money to do, and modifications will likely be needed to made their home wheelchair accessible.

I have received permission from his mother to set up a blog to keep everyone updated on his progress. I will post a link to it in the next few days. It will provide information to those who are interested in his progress, and possibilities of service - done confidentially without their knowing anything about it - for this amazing family.

Please keep Elder Zerin Petersen in yours prayers, and if you can, please join us in the fast for his recovery this Sunday, July 5

Thank you

The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints

Lakeland 2nd Ward

Rathdrum, Idaho

and the Colorado Springs, Colorado Mission

Elder Spencer Craft reported on his blog:

Dear Mom,
I'm so sorry about last week. I was totally rushed in my emailing so I didn't get to nearly as much as I wanted to. I hope you understand and know that I love you! After emailing last Monday I didn't have time to write letters because we went to a member's home who had a huge slip-n-slide. It is an activity that missionaries have done for years, but last Monday there was a horrible accident. Elder Peterson, in our district, landing at the bottom funny which broke his C4 veterbrea in his neck. He was temporarily paralyzed from the shoulders down. Me and a couple others helped stabilize him until the ambulance got there. He had surgery that night (with one of the best doctors in the country for that thing), and he is doing a lot better. He can move his arms and hands and is making progress. He'll probably need months to recover, but it is very hopeful. Our mission president gave him a blessing, which sounded really good. It was definitely a crazy experience. Please don't worry about me; it was just a freak accident, but I do realize that we need to be very careful. Your prayers are very much appreciated!By the way, I know I did all I could have done, but I feel responsible to be very familiar with the things I've been taught in my EMT class. Could you please send me my EMT book that's down in my closet, so I can review it?

We should all remember Elder Petersen in our prayers and the family as they go through a difficult time. To keep track of his progress go to Elder Zerin Petersen's blog.