Zalma man thankful to be alive

By SAMANTHA RINEHART

SEMO News Service

Editor's note: This article from the Southeast Missourian is published as a follow-up to a Daily Statesman article focusing on the story of Josh Blankenship's recovery from a grain auger accident. That article, by Managing Editor Noreen Hyslop, appeared on April 9, 2013.

ZALMA, Mo. -- Josh Blankenship has heard a lot of "nevers" over the past year.

On Dec. 13, he was cleaning a grain bin at MFA Agri Services in Advance, Mo., when he accidentally stepped in an auger hole and was trapped up to the waist. During the three hours he spent stuck in the auger, Blankenship said, neither he or the paramedics were optimistic about his future.

"The doctors thought I wouldn't make it to Cape, but I did," he said. "They thought I would never walk again, but I did. They also thought I would lose my leg, but I still have my leg."

Blankenship said his unexpected recovery was largely thanks to one man: Dr. Orlando Morejon, a surgeon then with Saint Francis Medical Center. He flew by helicopter from Cape Girardeau to Advance, to assist in the rescue effort, marking the first time in the hospital's history that a surgeon was flown to the scene of an accident.

"That was the turning point, when the surgeon flew in and they came in and cut me loose," he said.

At a Dec. 14 news conference, Morejon said he came to the scene prepared for any situation, even emergency amputation, but thanks to good timing and the work of local medics, the extrication went much more smoothly.

"I don't think this could have taken place if it were not for a system that was already fine-tuned," he said at the Dec. 14 news conference. "Not just the hospital system, but our interaction with Air Evac and the ground crews in Stoddard County. There had to be great communication and there was."

Not long after the accident, Morejon moved to a medical practice in Florida and Blankenship said he has yet to thank him for his efforts.

"My future plans are to one day thank him in person," he said.

Morejon wasn't the only person to help Blankenship and his family during their time of need. The Zalma, Mo., man said an entire community rallied behind him.

"So many people helped us," Blankenship said. "They brought food, gave donations to our bank -- which was a big thing we really appreciated. Just the outreach of our friends and the community was unreal.

He said he has a long list of people to thank, but saying "thank you" hardly seems enough.

"I really just want to thank all the Stoddard County personnel, the community that helped us out and all of my co-workers that went through the whole thing with me that day," Blankenship said.

He said his biggest thanks went to his family, for the sacrifices they made while he spent nearly a month at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

"I have to thank my wife and my mom for staying with me at the hospital the whole time and never leaving me alone," he said. "They stayed overnight in these really hard chairs for weeks."

Blankenship spent his holidays in the hospital last year and said he's looking forward to having a better holiday season this year.

Although he has a more optimistic outlook on his life now, Blankenship said it's been a long road to recovery. He's had seven major surgeries and said the possibility of having more surgeries later in life "isn't out of the question." But nearly a year after his accident, he's walking with the assistance of a cane and even driving.

He said knowing he has a strong support system behind him motivates him to push forward.

"Knowing that people are behind me is great," Blankenship said. "I feel a lot safer, and it gives me a lot more determination to keep going."