Dec. 22-- Brad McElwain was hanging Christmas lights outside his family's Claremore home earlier this month as a surprise for his wife, Laurie McElwain, who was at work.
Just after 7 p.m., their two youngest children, McKenna, 11, and Hunter, 8, heard a loud crash and rushed to see what had happened. They found their father unconscious. The ladder had slipped and sent him crashing to the deck.
"They saved me," he said. "They brought me to. I would have never woken up if they hadn't run out there screaming."
Laurie McElwain had just left work and was walking to the car when she got the call from McKenna.
"She said: 'We think he's dead. He's not moving and there's stuff coming out of his mouth,' " Laurie McElwain said. "He came to while (McKenna and I) were on the phone, and he said: 'Don't call 911; it's too expensive. We can't afford it. It's Christmas time.' I said, 'Right now, nothing else matters.' "
Brad McElwain was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital, where it was determined that he broke seven ribs. One broken rib caused complications with his lungs, and he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
He first suffered severe respiratory distress and then respiratory failure and was put on a ventilator. On the second day, a thoracotomy was performed to plate his ribs, and doctors found an infection on the lining of his lungs. While on the ventilator, he also suffered toxic shock syndrome.
"That was the worst point," Laurie McElwain said. But "he was taken off the ventilator on Sunday, and every day there's been something new -- he loses an invasive tube and he walks around."
Brad McElwain is a Clare-more firefighter. Laurie McElwain is a nurse at St. Francis.
She is on her husband's insurance and gets paid only when she works, which she hasn't been able to do because she's been by her husband's side since the accident.
The lack of income has put a stress on the family.
"It's been hard," she said.
Laurie McElwain said she's impressed with the amount of community support the family has received, from uniformed firefighters' taking shifts to be by Brad's side to friends' cooking meals and looking after the kids.
One neighbor even finished putting up the Christmas decorations on their house.
"I don't know what we'd do without everyone's support," she said.
And if it weren't for assistance from The Salvation Army, there would be no Christmas gifts for the family's four children.
"I knew there would literally be no gifts," she said. "Just paying the bills and keeping him here is expensive."
Initially, the couple were told that Brad McElwain would be in the hospital through Christmas. But he's improved at a rapid pace, and there's a chance he could be discharged on Christmas Day.
"That would be the perfect end," his wife said.
About the Neediest Families Fund Drive
The Neediest Families Fund Drive was established in 1928 to help Tulsa's poorest families find some peace and comfort for the holidays and the coming year.
This year's goal is to raise $300,000 by Christmas Eve.
In 2010, the fund collected $339,277.
Each Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday through the holiday season, the Tulsa World will spotlight families chosen by The Salvation Army to receive assistance through this year's fund.
None of the money raised is used for administrative costs, and cash is not given directly to the families.
Instead, The Salvation Army issues vouchers for specific needs.
To help families such as the one featured today, send a check or money order to the Neediest Families Fund Drive, in care of the Tulsa World, P.O. Box 21920, Tulsa, OK 74121-1920.
Donations are tax-deductible, and donors can be anonymous.
Mike Averill 918-581-8489
