Go Fund Me Page for Tom Wright

My dear friend Tom Wright recently had a terrible accident and is in a coma. He needs help defraying his medical costs as he recently lost his job to the Pandemic. Please consider helping. Any amount will help. Tom Wright is one of the most generous, fun loving, gentle souls I know. He was a student of mine at Saint Lawrence University who became a very close friend to me and my family. If you can't send money, please send love and prayers his way.

Click on this Go Fund Me link for more information on how you can help him.

     

Please consider donating for Tom if you know him and  have the ability to do so ...

Tom is a peach of a guy, and needs our help right now .

Thanks very much.
Hugs 

Good morning all, 

Sorry for the delay on this, its been a rough weekend. I wish I had better news. Very sad. The report below is from yesterday. Their is a Facebook page ( link provided below ) where Tom's friends in Colorado started to post post daily updates on his condition. Thanks for everyone's very generous donations and healing thoughts sent his way. I have been speaking with his mother and sister since Thursday morning, they want you all to know that your support means a lot to them: " is a beacon of light in this darkness. "

SUNDAY MORNING

Tom remains in the Intensive Care Unit in essentially the same condition as the last two days. He has experienced several events in the last 48 hours where his blood pressure and intracranial pressure have spiked. During the accident, Tom suffered multiple skull fractures, which has resulted in brain tissue herniating and swelling dangerously. Because of this, he underwent emergency surgery Thursday night when he arrived at the hospital, thus he has a skull-flap and drain in place to prevent excessive pressure and further damage to his brain. Tom does demonstrate good pupillary reactions and is out-breathing his ventilator. His body is in good condition, and of course he looks strong-as-ever.The reality of Tom’s condition is bleak, and we feel that it is our responsibility to be honest with the information we have. Tom is scoring very low on many neurological tests, and it is unlikely that he will ever recover cognitive or motor function that would bring him back to the friend we know and love. At this time, the best thing we can do is continue to pour out our love and support to his family and close friends while we wait for more information.

Tom Wright Update and Love FB page 

Thanks for the update. I dont have FB so cant read any updates. Im sorry about your friend.

my heart sank reading this update...im so sorry...

So sad and unfortunate. This was definitely with me as I attempted to climb yesterday and did a lot of questioning of it all. I don't want to speculate because it does no good but will there be an accident write up at some point for learning purposes? 

This is so terribly sad.

Dane B
From the FB page linked above:

"On Thursday, May 28th at 4pm, after a full day of sport climbing in Boulder Canyon, Tom took a ground-fall from about 25ft while reaching to clip his rope at the third bolt of a moderate sport climb. Tom sustained serious head-trauma, with almost no other bodily injury. His climbing partner handled the situation as perfectly as he could in the moment, and Tom was quickly taken to the road by search and rescue before being evacuated by helicopter to St. Anthony's hospital near Denver."

thanks. i tried to hit the facebook link but it required having an account to login and that is something i don't have. was he wearing a helmet? i basically never sport climb with a helmet myself and need to do better on that front. i was talking with a friend yesterday evening and she mentioned the 3rd bolt on "melancholy man" she was on yesterday and it hit me that could have very likely been the route in question for the accident (she ended up going indirect and using a stick clip for that bolt)

Dane B wrote: thanks. i tried to hit the facebook link but it required having an account to login and that is something i don't have. was he wearing a helmet? i basically never sport climb with a helmet myself and need to do better on that front. i was talking with a friend yesterday evening and she mentioned the 3rd bolt on "melancholy man" she was on yesterday and it hit me that could have very likely been the route in question for the accident (she ended up going indirect and using a stick clip for that bolt)

Dane, from the FB page, it appears that Tom chose to wear a helmet most of the time and judging from the places pictured, (Patagonia, Black Canyon, etc.) he was more than experienced enough. That said, if it was Melancholy Man, there are a number of comments about loose holds, etc and having one break at the third bolt while clipping with rope out could cause a serious accident along the lines of what happened.

"Huge pieces fell of right at the start for me and then super choss pile halfway up. You can avoid the mess in the middle, but look for the nastiness. Not really recommending it." from 2012

I would also wear a helmet in all those places, but would not at animal world to clip bolts. I know other folks as well who will wear helmets when trad/multipitch cimbing but not out for a day of cragging clipping bolts. Whatever the case it doesn't change the outcome of this tragic event and a young man's life forever being altered, but it should be a good reminder for many of the rest of us to always put the helmet on.

Sending positive vibes to Tom, his climbing partner, and to his family.

Tom is incredibly kind-hearted, fun-loving, and free-spirited. My heart goes out to Tom’s loved ones and their families. Sending Tom healing energy and powerful thoughts.