Injured farmer rebuilds life after medical staff rebuilds his body

By STEVE BROWN
Capital Press

It was a typical Thursday in March. Steve Keudell was taking down a maple tree with his brother Alan at a house they own.

He had a lot on his mind, including his son Daniel's wedding, which was planned for the following Saturday.

Beyond that, the Aumsville, Ore., farmer doesn't remember anything about the accident, only what he has been told.

"I was in a basket, up 10 or 12 feet, working on a limb with a chainsaw. When the limb fell, it hit the powerline, knocking one of the three lines to the ground. I hollered at my brother to get the power turned off.

"When he got back, I was unconscious in the basket. I don't know if I touched the tree or what. The tree was apparently touching the other lines.

"I got zapped."

In that instant, his life changed forever. The electric current entered his skull and exited his left hand. "I don't remember any pain, and that's fine by me."

The forklift holding the basket had rubber tires, and in retrospect Keudell figures that must have reduced the current. "I didn't take the whole jolt."

It took a while to get the power turned off, and his brother couldn't tell whether Steve was alive. Then Alan saw his leg moving.

Critical condition

A medical evacuation helicopter landed in the nearby grass seed field before the power got turned off. Once the rescue crew from the local fire department got him aboard, the helicopter headed for a hospital in Corvallis. Doctors there quickly redirected him to the burn unit at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.

He was in critical condition with major burns and head trauma -- "Part of my brain exposed, not much left of my left arm but the bone" -- and his family gathered around in prayer and mutual support.

"My sister-in-law, Janice Keudell, started and maintained a blog starting on March 14 to keep people informed -- to quash rumors and keep our sanity."

The blog, he says, answered friends' questions and provided a channel for two-way conversation.

"I'm Catholic, and there was an outpouring of prayers from all areas and all faiths. He was right there with me all the way, and it wasn't my time."

Keudell's first surgery, four days after the accident, was four hours long. That was followed by a succession of surgeries and skin grafts.

The doctors considered taking his left arm off, because it was only bone, but with a muscle graft from his back and skin grafts, they rebuilt it. "It's working a little better all the time. I'm missing a lot of sensation in the fingers."

He was in the hospital nine weeks.

"I don't remember much from the first five weeks."

"The doctors and nurses and therapists all say I made progress quickly. ... The folks at the hospital said, 'Your health has helped save you.' I've always been in good shape."

Working his way back

His therapy continues at home, including lots of stretching every morning.

"My wife (Sharon) is just an angel, always massaging my skin grafts.

"I've got the best family in the world. My wife couldn't drive because of all that was going on, so someone was always there to drive her to Portland every day."

Keudell's sons, sister, brothers and in-laws jumped in wherever needed, he says, picking up slack on the farm, working, driving, visiting him at the hospital. Three different priests came to see him, too. "A lot of prayers were on my side."

The brain damage mostly affects his vision. "I have no peripheral vision to my left with either eye. Doctors say it will eventually be more of a nuisance than a handicap.

"I certainly can't drive any more, and I'm not ready to drive farm equipment for a while. I'm just working three or four hours a day in the office. Nothing physical.

"I'm 85 percent mentally. Physically, less than that. I can't plant a field."

In addition to growing crops, Keudell also serves on the board of directors of Wilco Farmers Inc., based in Mount Angel, Ore.

Insurance has covered much of the medical costs, Keudell says. "I have a great agent, though I had never met him in seven years doing business with him."

Son Daniel went ahead with a scaled-down wedding ceremony. "There was just family, they exchanged vows, no celebration. They will do the whole thing in November."

Then, he says, the Keudells will have plenty to celebrate.

Lesson learned

"What could I have done differently?

"My brother and I have talked about that, and we figured we should have just hired the job out.

"Farmers think they can tackle any project, just trying to save money. It would have cost us maybe $400 or $500 to have that tree taken out."

Staff writer Steve Brown is based in Salem. E-mail: sbrown@capitalpress.com.