Derek's Health

I tried to see Derek last night, especially after his friend that was sitting next to him on the truck visited me yesterday. That student said that Derek's parents were wanting visitors due to their concern of whether or not he would make it through the night. I was unable to find teachers to go with me after school, so I will go today. The student that was next to Derek was scraped up pretty badly. He has to keep watch to make sure he doesn't have a fractured skull, and he has one bad headache. These two students were two favorites of mine. Both are Christians and both have many adult and teen friends.

Report from a teacher who visited him last night:
He is in a chemically induced coma.
Obviously he is not able to talk or move.

I was able to visit with his Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt.

The doctors have a shunt drilled in the top right hand side of his skull, which dispels fluid from the swelling of the brain.

The plan, as of yesterday, is to try and wake Derek up from the chemically induced coma in nine more days.

He looks really good and strong.

I know you will pray for him.

Teen suffers brain injury from pickup overturn
09:07 PM CST on Tuesday, December 13, 2005
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA-TV

WFAA-TV Derek Elizondo
A Farmers Branch family has begun a bedside vigil for their teenage son who suffered a severe brain injury in a pickup truck accident Monday outside R.L. Turner High School.
Eight R.L. Turner High School students were on their way down Cox Street in Carrollton for wrestling and off-season football workouts at the field house when the truck flipped with six students in its bed.
Art Elizondo and Marie Simpson endured a long sleepless night while their son Derek went through surgery. Their wait for his recovery continued into Tuesday.
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Brad Watson reports
Student remains hospitalized after truck overturns
"He's going to pull out," Elizondo said. "He's going to pull out. God's going to take good care of him."
The parents said he is in critical condition with swelling of the brain and his recuperation could take up to a year.
"He's a strong kid," Simpson said. "He's a fighter. He's healthy, so he's going to come out of it one day at a time."
Derek was among six who rode in the truck's bed, despite state law that says no one under 18 can ride in the bed on a public street, and flew out as it overturned.
The students were heading from the high school to the field house, which was a few blocks away.
The school district said students without vehicles are told to walk, but one student said students pick up rides frequently.
"Yeah, they usually do it...but they're like going slow," said Nixon Portillo, a freshman at R.L. Turner High School.
R.L. Turner High School athletes who do drive to practice are being told by the school to obey traffic laws or face discipline.
"We just always remind them just how careful you have to be," said Bobby Burns, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.
Carrollton police said they are still investigating, and charges against the student driver who they said was speeding are still possible.
E-mail mailto:bwatson@wfaa.com?subject=wreck