Chaffin family faces long road to recovery

It was a typical Memorial Day weekend. 

Rick Chaffin, former owner of Bigfork Auto Parts, was riding his ATV on a forest service road up the North Fork. He rode all the time, and this ride was short, just a quick run in the woods. He decided not to wear a helmet.

He came to a gravel pit, a good place to play at and have a little fun.

“It just happened in a matter of seconds, it just flipped completely right over on top of him,” Rick’s wife, Toni Chaffin said.

In mere moments Rick had four fractures in his skull, eight broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Toni said he was completely unconscious, and bleeding out of his ears.

With no cell phone service Rick’s son went for help, eventually finding someone who could call 911. In the mean time, his son’s girlfriend attempted CPR.

Rick had started to turn purple, his lungs filling up with blood. After one compression she realized his ribs were broken, and doing CPR wasn’t possible. But that single compression opened up Rick’s airways, allowing him to breathe until the ambulance got there 45 minutes later.

Once help arrived Toni estimated it was half an hour before paramedics got Rick stable enough to transport, and they airlifted him to Kalispell. 

His head trauma was severe, and Toni speculates that if he’d worn a helmet his injuries wouldn’t have been so bad.

“Rick and I have rode ATVs for years,” Toni said. “It’s one of those things we take for granted. It’s just easy to set it (the helmet) aside kind of like a seat belt. We were very fortunate that it didn’t kill him.”

Though Rick survived, the road to recovery has been long, and isn’t over.

His brain shifted seven centimeters, and doctors decided to do brain surgery, which left him in a coma for 17 days. When he did eventually come out of the coma he had no idea what was going on. Toni said for about six weeks Rick had no awareness. Restraints had to be used to keep him from pulling out his feeding tube and other tubes that were keeping him alive. Toni spent many nights beside his bed at the hospital and said even with the restraints he would manage to pull tubes out, because he wasn’t aware of what was happening. All he knew was there was a foreign object in his body.

When he started to come around they began physical therapy, three hours a day, which is very intense for someone who’s been immobile for so long.

Doctors told Toni they’d do everything they could, but in the end it was up to Rick.

Toni said the first time Rick got up on his feet, he still didn’t know anyone, but it was a victory.

“That was pretty amazing because we didn’t think he’d be able to walk again,” she said.

The Chaffins spent 54 days in the hospital. “It’s a part of my life that I’m so glad is behind us now,” Toni said, “but we still have a long road to go.”

The recovery has continued at home and Toni has taken the role of caregiver. Rick does six to nine therapy sessions a week for physical, occupational and speech. He is healing broken ribs and has trouble reading, talking, understanding and doing basic everyday things. But he’s improving.

“He’s getting there,” Toni said. “He’s still here, making progress everyday.”

The brain takes a long time to heal, and recovery eventually begins to slow down over time. When Rick regains things quickly, it’s a good sign. But the more time that passes, the more likely things will be lost.

“It’s hard to say he’s going to be normal again, because they can’t say that,” Toni said. “Now it’s just a matter of time. Waiting, and watching. Trying to keep him on his medications.”

Rick is on over 10 medications, which are expensive.

Some of the challenges the Chaffins have faced since Rick’s accident have been financial.

When they sold Bigfork Auto Parts, they made the decision to go without health insurance. It was a hard decision, Toni said, but in the down economy, it was what made sense.

Friends and family have turned out in force to helped the Chaffins. They’ve bought groceries and gas. Her sister-in-law gave them her house in Kalispell to live in. And friends and family helped with the move. Members of First Baptist church have offered assistance and visits.

“My family just all came together and it was just like a whirlwind,” Toni said. “I’ve been absolutely blessed and amazed.”

For Toni, who is president of the Bigfork Piecemakers Quilting Guild, an organization that often works to help others, being on the receiving end of her friends’ and community’s generosity has been a new experience.

“It amazes me because I’ve never had this experience before,” she said. “It’s very humbling. My pride in me is saying no, no, don’t, but even the bible says we’re to help carry each other’s burdens. I know how I’ve felt when I’ve helped other people. It’s hard when you’re on the receiving end — it’s a completely different feeling. I just hope that I can somehow show or express my appreciation for them.”