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Bailey healing well in Alabama hospital
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A Putnam County man continues his recovery following serious injuries sustained on a mission trip to tornado-ravaged Alabama.
As reported last week in the Banner Graphic, on May 6 Roger Bailey was part of a group from Fillmore Christian Church and Bethel Baptist Church working in Pleasant Grove, Ala., when the roots of a tree recoiled and trapped him in a hole.
Bailey sustained a crushed hip, broken ribs, one broken vertebra and a collapsed lung. In a recent email, he reported his condition has improved greatly.
"I moved into a rehab facility at the UAB Hospital (Spain Rehabilitation Center) on May 13. I started therapy on Saturday and the current plan is for my release to fly home on Saturday the 21st," Bailey wrote.
"My injuries are healing well considering the extent of the damage to my hip. The surgeons had to rebuild the hip socket from the broken pieces," he added. "My broken ribs will heal and I have one fractured vertebra that should not require any further work except to wear a brace for about two months to keep it stable."
In the spirit of the mission he was on, Bailey expressed his appreciation to the community for its concern as well as his disappointment more work could not be done.
"I want to thank everyone in the community for their continuing prayers and concerns," Bailey said. "While unfortunate, this was an unforeseable accident.
"My worst disappointment is that our team of volunteers did not get to put in the 2.5 days of work that we had originally intended."