Father Ralph Wright OSB needs your prayers immediately

• From IWKnights Church Director Steve Dickhut……..

Hi – for those of you who have not heard- Father Ralph had a serious accident yesterday and is in need of your prayers. The only explanation I have is printed below. If I receive additional message today I will pass it along.

  “This morning Fr. Ralph (Wright) was riding a horse at A-bar-A ranch in Wyoming, when both Fr. Ralph and the horse fell. He was taken by medevac to the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, CO. According to the initial tests and first CT scan, Fr. Ralph has some fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and some small bleeding in the brain. 

  With regard to the brain injury, we have the following reasons to be optimistic about his recovery: 1) that he was responsive to questions after an initial period of thirty minutes of unconsciousness, 2) that early in the afternoon Fr. Ralph, while under conscious sedation, responded to the surgeon’s requests to squeeze the surgeon’s finger, 3) that the second CT scan revealed no additional bleeding in his brain, and 4) that he is now able, while still under conscious sedation, to respond to the surgeon’s requests for him to lift his arms and legs. That the 2nd CT scan reveals no additional bleeding in his brain means that he will likely not need an operation on his brain. (The surgeon would have operated, were there to have been additional bleeding.)

  These early signs give us good reason to hope that he may have avoided the worst case scenarios, but we are awaiting the results of additional tests tomorrow. He will remain intubated tonight, just in case anything were to happen, and they will likely extubate him late tomorrow morning.

  While Fr. Ralph will likely need several days in the hospital and perhaps some additional time recuperating near to the hospital, we are breathing easier after this most recent news. Fr. Gerard caught a late afternoon plane to Denver, and he should arrive to the hospital late this evening. Again, I hope to have more news for everyone by early tomorrow afternoon.”

– Fr. Cassian Koenemann