Accident victim is back in Minnesota
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 21, 2010 1:46 PM
A former Goldsboro man who broke his back and neck in a speed-gliding accident has been transferred to a hospital closer to his parents' Minnesota home.
Joe Stone, 25, left Wayne County years ago when his parents, Ron and Kim Stone, moved to Minnesota. Two years ago, Joe moved to Montana.
On Aug. 13, while free gliding at Mount Jumbo, he became tangled up in equipment during a descent and fell to the bottom of the mountain, said his aunt, Debbie Kimbrell, owner of Associated Parcel in Pikeville.
He was kept in an induced coma and on a respirator to keep him stable, she said.
Last week, he was transferred to Regions Hospital in Minnesota, she said, still in the ICU unit.
"He has had a trach put in and can now talk," she said. "He still has no movement from his chest down and they are continuing to run tests to see how his spine is healing.
"There are still issues but Joe is a strong young man and we know without a doubt the Lord has been guiding this young man through this ordeal."
At this point, only family is being allowed to visit, she added.
Ms. Kimbrell said she is still in the planning stages of putting together a fundraiser locally to help the family with medical bills.