The Copeland Family Updates

Taken from The Copeland Family Updates Facebook group with permission.

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Exactly 60 Hours has passed since the Motorhome’s explosion.  We are getting caught up on updates and things should flow a little more consistently now.

This is the first update from Whitney yesterday afternoon regarding the two surgeries:

“Pepper is stable, has a fever (normal with so much swelling). They are wheeling her down to surgery now. 

Krew's surgery went well. The Dr. said there was still some skin that potentially wasn’t as damaged as he thought. So that’s a good sign for now.”

This is an update I received from Kyle’s father, Greg Copeland at 2:30 am this morning:

“Please excuse my delayed update on my family’s condition.  As you can likely understand, it's been a bit overwhelming and emotionally exhausting, but the tremendous and continuous expressions of love and support have been quite uplifting.

All three injured family members (Kyle, Pepper, and Krew) are intubated and sedated.  They will remain intubated until they are individually assessed that the swelling in their throats has abated.  The expected pain is being managed via IV meds so that they can be comfortable and sleep and heal.

The process for third degree burn areas, as explained to me, is to selectively and surgically remove the evidently damaged skin by debridement of the dead tissue via scraping.  This process continues until tissue that is still viable is encountered and confirmed via surface bleeding, indicating that blood vessels are still functional.  The doctors then cover the debrided areas with cadaver skin to control infection and to keep the wound covered to allow any potential healing to occur.  Additional scraping may be necessary as further damaged tissue is assessed to be present.  Eventually skin graft transplant tissue is harvested from other areas of the patient to the damaged areas.  Rehab is then necessary to establish and enhance the elasticity of the transplanted skin tissue.

Kyle is the most stable of the three.  His face was burned and was quite swollen yesterday, almost unrecognizably swollen.  He’ll have quite a recovery.  Nurses say 72 hours and the swelling will subside substantially.  The swelling appeared to be much better today.  However, they haven't yet determined the extent of the injuries to the corneas of his eyes and won't be able to do so until the swelling goes down enough to properly examine his eyes.

It turns out that a coat I gave him a few months ago ended up being surprisingly fire retardant and he has no burn injuries under where the coat was.  So, his injuries are limited to his neck, head, hands, and one knee and he has no burns on his torso, back, or arms.  Again, small miracles manifest in unexpected ways.  However, he will likely need skin grafts to the backs of his hands, and maybe the back of his neck.  He is scheduled for surgery on Friday morning for the damaged areas on the backs of his hands.

Krew is the second most stable.  His most serious injuries include his head, neck, arms, and hands.  His face was burned and is also quite swollen, however the swelling has improved since yesterday.  The ophthalmologist was able to examine his eyes and determined that Krew has typical damage to his corneas that is often experienced by burn victims and which is being actively treated with eye drops four times a day.  They have been actively managing his blood pressure since it's been periodically dropping, and his sedation meds as he appears to be the most uncomfortable.  His second surgery this morning removed most of the skin on his arms and hands, and the scraped areas were covered with cadaver skin.  However, the doctor reported that, "Krew’s surgery went well. There was still some skin that potentially wasn’t as damaged as he thought"; meaning the burn damage wasn't as extensive, or as deep, as originally expected.  Krew was quite uncomfortable and required active pain and sedation meds management for a few hours after his surgery.  He needed a "one-bag" blood transfusion this evening to help with his blood pressure issues.  They will continue to monitor him and perform additional debridement, as necessary.

Pepper was the most seriously injured in the fire.  She was burned over 80% of her body.  She is stable but is experiencing a low-grade fever which is evidently typical for the level of swelling she has been experiencing.  Her face was also burned and it is similarly swollen, however the swelling has improved since yesterday. The ophthalmologist was also able to examine Pepper's eyes and determined that she has similarly typical damage to her corneas that is often experienced by burn victims and which is being actively treated with eye drops four times a day.

Pepper's second surgery this afternoon removed most of the damaged skin on her chest, arms, and hands, and the scraped areas were covered with cadaver skin.  She received a "two-bag" blood transfusion during the surgery.  Tomorrow she will have the damaged skin removed from her back, which is the area that received the most damage.  I suspect that she grabbed her brother and tried to protect him from the explosion by attempting to cradle him to her stomach, and taking the majority of the fire ball impact to her back.

On Friday she will have the procedure performed on her legs and feet.  Because of her extensive injuries they cannot perform all the work on the same day during the same surgical session.  

Pepper has been the most lucid and aware of the three.  She awoke yesterday for over an hour and again today for an extended period of time.  She's frustrated that she can't speak because of the intubation tube but she is managing to carry on quite a conversation with her mother and with her grandmother via a complicated version of a question and answer guessing game.  She's expressive and assertive and clearly aware of where she is and why.  We are hopeful that this is a good indication that she hasn't experienced any brain damage.  This is particularly encouraging because her heart stopped for about five minutes during the life-flight from St. George to Las Vegas.

I find the outpouring of love and support to be overwhelming and truly appreciated.  I get emotional when I experience and hear of the contributions and expressions of heartfelt concern and manifest empathy.  The best thing and really the most important thing is for everyone to pray earnestly, pray with great faith in miracles, pray that the doctors will be inspired and the treatment will be effective, and pray that we can all be blessed to learn wonderful and tremendous things from this experience.  

I would also suggest that Pepper is in need of particular intercession as it will take months of skin grafts and rehab for her to recover to whatever measure of recovery that she can achieve, and that Heavenly Father will bless her with.  

Lastly, pray that Whitney will continue to have the strength to administer and attend to the needs of her family, to the extent possible.

Take great care,

Greg Copeland

#CopelandStrong

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2nd posting copied from The Copeland Family Updates

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I honestly don't even know where to start with these updates and feel very inadequate. But I will do my best to keep it somewhat organized. Please offer all of the grace you can muster with my writing. I'll begin with the night of the event. I understand that not knowing what is going on or what happened and not having details can feel overwhelming so I want to share some details and miracles from the night of the event to maybe offer some peace of "knowing". I want to warn you before reading, that this post is detailed and could be triggering if you have experienced similar trauma in that past. 

Here is an accumulation of all of the accounts of everyone I've heard from that night. 

Kyle and Whitney were outside the bus hitching the bus to their trailer. Kyle was kneeling working on it and Whitney was holding the flashlight. Pepper and Kade were in their bunks. Kade was reading and Pepper was using her new iPod Touch. Krew and Emree were in playing "The Floor Is Lava" towards the front of the bus. They began to hear a propane tank leaking which Emree described as "the sound of water" but was the whistling noise of leaking fumes. This caused Pepper to look over the top of her I pod and yell, "Oh no! Emree go get mom!" Emree was then off the bus and yelled to her parents that something was leaking and something about a fire when the whole bus engulfed in flames. Whitney screamed and began taking off her coat and running to get to the front of the door. Kyle arrived right behind her and as she took the first step into the bus he grabbed her arm and threw her so hard backwards she almost fell to the ground as if to tell her, "No". Then turned and ran into the flames. This was miracle #1. Whitney looking back does not believe she would have had the stamina necessary to get herself back out, let alone carrying other people. When Kyle arrived at the hospital, they learned that Kyle's coat was miraculously fire resistant. He had received it from his dad as a hand me down only a few weeks earlier. This saved all of Kyle's vital organs. Whitney would have gone in wearing only a t-shirt.

Kade remembered his emergency escape window from his top bunk and immediately exited through it. He was out of the bus within seconds and remembers his curtains being on fire. He has a large blister on the top of his ear which I hear he thinks is "pretty cool". His feet got stuck on his way out but he was able to get them loose and wiggle down to the ground. Whitney yelled at Kade to go stand by Emree and run away from the bus. 

What went on inside of the bus is more speculation right now since we don't have any facts from anyone in the bus. But knowing Pepper's loving and nurturing nature and the pattern of her burns, we believe as soon as she told Emree to get off the bus she called Krew over to her. Miracle #2: Krew was wearing footed pajamas which were fire resistant as well. (California passed a law years ago that all children's footed pajamas must be fire resistant). Miracle #3: Pepper's burns stop right under her ribs and begin again at her knees. She has NO BURNS on the front of her body covering her stomach and thighs and no burns meaning most of the skin and tissue covering her vital organs were untouched. The only explanation for this we can think of, is that she called Krew over to her and pulled Krew into her holding him against her body. His fireproof footed pajamas then would have protected the both of them. Her hands and back are severely burned which we believe she used her hands to cover Krew's head and then turned her back to the fire while only in a thin t shirt. 

Kyle came out carrying Krew and pulling Pepper behind him. He handed Krew to Whitney and as he took the last step off of the bus collapsed face down. Pepper stood frozen and in flames on the last step of the bus completely in shock. Whitney grabbed her and pushed their bodies together putting the flames out and then patted the flames out everywhere else. Miracle #4: Whitney's hands only have blisters covering them when she was literally grabbing the flames covering Pepper. Whitney then somehow carried Krew and drug/carried Pepper to the neighbor,s front porch. Kyle,s face swelled so quickly that he couldn't see and was yelling and screaming unsure if everyone was out and he couldn't see. Whitney was yelling back to him to run away from the bus and everyone was out. Whitney was then left to run from all of her family members and care for them until first responders arrived. Whitney said nosises are triggering and she's having flashbacks. Her children's screams, the bus catching flame, the explosions, heavy breathing and crying. But she's doing so well considering. She is going from room to room singing and spending time with each of them. All are still sedated. Kyle and Krew's bodies were luckily protected but their face and hands were badly burnt. Pepper has received the worst burns with her body being so exposed. 

Please continue to pray and share the GoFundMe page and Venmo. This family needs our consistent support for a long time. Pray that the doctors will be inspired and their hands will be steady as they care for them. #Copelandstrong

Update 12/31 at 9:30 am from Greg Copeland, Kyle's father who is at the UMC Burn Center in Las Vegas with Whitney, holding vigil with their family:

"The continual outpouring of love and support from so many, in ways both great and small, is quite overwhelming and truly appreciated.

Earlier today Whitney was able to spend some time with Kyle.  Afterwards, she reported that, “I sat with Kyle, and they lowered his sedation in order for him to hear my voice. He stirred a little and I was able to tell him I was there and his kids were all safe and being taken care of.  I asked if he could hear me and he squeezed my hand over and over. They sedated him shortly after. I loved feeling his fingers squeeze mine ♥️.”

This afternoon, Whitney had a tender moment with Pepper.  While it’s difficult to decipher her limited lip movements, when Whitney and Pepper can actually communicate it is a joyous moment for both of them! 

Pepper asked about the bus and everything on it.  She remembered that the bus was on fire, and asked about everything on it.  Whitney told her that everything was burned up and lost in the fire, but everyone in the family got out and is safe. 

Whitney asked Pepper if she wanted to hear about a surprise, and told her that someone had bought her a new iPod touch and that they are mailing it to her.  She smiled so big that Whitney thought her face might burst. Pepper then immediately asked about Kade, and Whitney said that he got a new switch.  She then asked about Emree and Whitney told her that Emree got a new tablet and Krew did too. She asked about Whitney and her Daddy.  Whitney told her that she still has her phone and it still works, and her Daddy will get a new phone.

Pepper nodded her head and looked very content.  Even in a  sedated state, she still has the gift of caring for others. She is so sweet.

Pepper then opened both eyes and saw her mom for the first time.  She smiled big and Whitney saw the recognition in her eyes.  Pepper’s eyes are still swollen but she opened them just enough that Whitney could see that even though they look cloudy, they are still a pretty blue. We don’t yet know the extent of her eye injuries, but she nodded when Whitney asked if she could see her.  Small successes, continued miracles.

They changed Pepper’s dressings today.  It was a longggg process that took over 1.5 hours. It’s an exhausting procedure.

They also changed Krew’s dressings.  It didn’t take quite as long.  His appearance is improving, bit by bit.

The swelling in Kyle’s face has improved from yesterday.  His vitals continue to be stable.  He occasionally responds to voices. However, they still haven't yet determined the extent of the injuries to the corneas of his eyes, and won't be able to do so until the swelling goes down enough for a proper examination.

New Scheduled Surgeries: 

Pepper-Friday 7am

Kyle-Saturday 7:30am

Krew-Sunday 7am 

I have heard of a few LDS wards that are having a special fast for Kyle and Whitney and their kids this coming Sunday.  I think the best thing, and really the most important thing, is for everyone to pray earnestly and with great faith in the continued manifestation of miracles in the lives of my son and his family.

Lastly, Pepper is in need of particular intercessory prayers as her recovery will be the most significant and of the longest duration.

Again, thank you for the outpouring and ongoing floods of expressions of love and physical support.  They are truly and deeply appreciated.

Take great care,

Greg Copeland