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Kellen was airlifted to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. He was initially diagnosed with broken vertebrae in his neck (from his skull down to his shoulder), broken vertebrae in his back, damage to an artery in his neck and burns to his back and right arm. He is in serious but stable condition and remains in intensive care. Doctors were performing more tests to ensure he had no other injuries. He is reported to have feeling and movement in all his extremities. The early prognosis is that they will have to fuse the bones in his neck together, which would prevent him from moving his head up, down, right or left.
As of Sunday afternoon, doctors have provided some updates. They have made some progress on his damaged artery. They are hoping that the damage to his back will heal on its' own, without needing surgery. He has had some problems with his breathing and has been placed on a breathing machine and has a tube in his lungs. A tube was also put in his stomach to drain some of the excess fluids that were causing nausea. Due to the extreme pain he has been in, doctors have decided to keep him unconscious. Surgery will not be considered for several days, as doctors wait for the swelling in his spinal cord to go down.
During the first 48 hours of learning of the incident, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for the young driver and race car fabricator. There are many efforts underway to help in raise funds for Kellen. Donation information is available on his website, www.KellenChadwick.com.
Kellen has been given word of all the support the racing community has been showing to him. He and the Chadwick family are very grateful.
We want to say a special Thank You to Ryan McDaniel. Ryan has been providing much of the information to the racing community regarding Kellen's status via various message boards.
Ryan, you are a great friend to Kellen and the Chadwick family!
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