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Carole Neitzel, the mother of the lone survivor of the Crandon shootings, Charlie Neitzel, recently dropped off a letter to the Forest Republican to inform the public of her son's progress.

After being shot in the right leg, right upper arm and shoulder, Charlie was flown in a Flight for Life to St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. He spent the next 17 days undergoing surgeries and was released on October 24 to his home for recovery.

In the letter, Carole remarked on how quickly the time since the shootings has passed. “Where does the time go? It seems that so much of the last four weeks is a blur,” wrote Carole.

Carole described her days as getting up, bathing and dressing herself and then Charlie, giving him his medicine every few hours around the clock, making sure he eats and drinks properly, running to town for groceries, medicine or to Marshfield for follow-up appointments.

“For the first few weeks there were non-stop visitors and phone calls,” she wrote. “There have been calls and meetings with the law enforcement or crime representatives.”

Charlie is spending his time in a hospital bed in their living room until Carole is able to get Charlie's room set up so he can sleep in there. He can also sit in a recliner that someone donated. “A wonderful friend was kind enough to donate the recliner for him,” Carole

wrote.

He is in a full arm cast from his shoulder down to his knuckles of his fingers. His elbow is,

for all intensive purposes, gone. The bullet shattered several inches of bone so severely that the doctor had nothing to work with to stabilize it.

“There are options of reconstruction down the road, in perhaps three months or so, but for the time being, he will remain in a cast,” his mother wrote.

He also has a rod in the femur of his leg, from the hip to just about the knee.

“In order to allow it to heal properly without loosening the screws, he cannot bear any weight on that foot for up to six months. Some of you may have seen him out and about a little, but we have found that he suffers substantially afterward with swelling and increased pain. He is extremely uncomfortable in his wheelchair and being upright increases the pain significantly in his leg and foot.

Thankfully he can flex his calf and wiggle his toes. “That is huge in that his foot has been essentially dead since the bullet damaged the sciatic nerve in his leg. We didn't know the extent it was damaged and now the doctor says we know that it is not completely severed.”

Unfortunately, with movement comes increased nerve pain that according to Charlie's doctors, is the worst kind of pain there is and no pain medication will help.

“Charlie now believes he will walk and that will give him the hope and strength he need to strive for it. There is not therapy to be done...since his uninjured side is still strong and the injured side cannot be worked with yet,” wrote Carole. “We have been to Marshfield two times so far for follow-up and go again tomorrow (November 7) to see a neurologist for an EMG. They change his cast each time and re-xray and send us on our way. It is 115 miles each way so we are happy to have time between visits.”

Charlie's struggles will truly start when he can begin rehabilitation. “He has to concentrate on healing emotionally and get plenty of rest to his body can heal itself as best as possible in the inside,” wrote Carole. “We are constantly amazed at the outpouring of generosity and support from family, friends, the community and even strangers all over the world. It is a wonderful feeling to see that side of people. As Charlie said early on, it is a shame that it takes such tragedies for us to allow this side of us to come out.”

“Many people have asked what they can do to help. Cards, money, food, flowers, etc. poured in for weeks, but time is passing so quickly and some of the things that we really needed right away, we still have not been able to find. We seem to lose so much time with phone tag and some people just not seeming to follow through. I don't want to duplicate efforts or step on toes, but at the end of the day, it is just ‘us.' If that sounds ungrateful, I am sorry. It couldn't be further from the truth. My son is alive and for that we thank God everyday. We thank everyone that has helped in any way,” continued Carole.

While Carole is a certified nursing assistant and medication assistant, because Charlie cannot be left alone for more than a few hours and they have been unable to get any help from a home health agency, Carole has not been able to return to work.

“We understand that everyone has their life to return to and the need to get back some normalcy, if there is such a thing. I hope I haven't offended anyone but the truth is the calls have nearly stopped as have the visitors,” she wrote.

She went on to write that they are mourning the loss of several close friends. “We are sorry for the pain and loss that their families and friends will feel for the rest of their lives. These wonderful young men and women had only just begun to decide how they would live their lives and it was so tragically stolen from them....This is a horrible tragedy but we choose not to dwell on it. Pointing fingers or placing blame serves no purpose for us. We pray that the Peterson's can let go of any guilt that they feel as they are not accountable for Tyler's actions. While we have never met them, we have heard only good things about them and hope that they can go on with their lives and find some peace and happiness again. We wish the same for the friends and families of the other victims and everyone that was affected by this horrific incident.”

As far as how Charlie is doing emotionally, his mother said his moods are up and down, but the medication he is on will hopefully help to avoid post traumatic stress disorder.

“He gets very depressed at the thought of having to lay here like this for an unknown length of time and not knowing whether he will ever walk again. The nerve pain gets unbearable at times and the doctor says it will get worse before it gets better. The constant pain brings him to the point of wanting to just give up at times, but we have been able to get past that so far. Some days are worse than others. This is where the prayers and support come in,” wrote Carole. “For us, we must concentrate on healing both physically and emotionally and focus on how we will get by financially for many years while Charlie struggles to regain his life. We have gotten this far with God's grace and with your help, will continue to strive to a full recovery.”

A Web site has been set up at www.caringbridge.org where everyone can check on Charlie's progress and send him notes. Prayers, phone calls and visits are also welcome.

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Comments »

Nancy St.Peter wrote on Nov 30, 2007 10:23 AM: " Our hearts and prayers go out to Charlie and his family and Carole know that if you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to lean on I am here for you. I can't even Imagine going through what you are. Hang in there it has to get better. " The comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rhinelander Daily News.

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