Kent and Tracy Rathbun were visiting friends near Marfa this weekend when the couple and their daughter Garrett were thrown from the backseat of a ATV. Garrett and Tracy were not injured, but Kent was airlifted to a hospital in Odessa with major injuries: 22 broken ribs, a punctured kidney, and a fractured T7 vertebrae, and punctured right lung.
I reached Tracy Rathbun’s partner at Shinsei and friend Lynae Fearing who is with the family now. According to Fearing, Kent has been airlifted to Parkland Hospital where doctors are trying to get the fluid out of his lungs so that they can perform the necessary back surgery.
Fearing told me the couple and their daughter were riding on the back elevated seat of the ATV on Saturday and, as they traversed up the side of a mountain, the back seat came off. “The doctors are a bit more encouraging today,” Fearing says. “Kent is conscious and blowing into a device that measures his lungs and they feel that if they can get the lungs cleared today they will do the back surgery tomorrow.
Despite the severity of his condition, Kent seems to be in good spirits. “This morning he said ‘Oh my god, I have a big catering event next week,’” Fearing says.
That’s the Big Daddy we all know.
Story developing.
Update: The family kindly asks you follow Kent’s progress on Caring Bridge.
According to Donner Tanner, Director of Marketing and Communications at Kent Rathbun Concepts:
On Saturday afternoon, Kent, Tracy and Garrett were going up a steep mountain on the back of a Polaris Ranger with 4 other adults, when the elevated 3rd row bench they were sitting on came loose. They landed on a the ground, which was full of boulders. Tracy sustained a minor injury, Garrett landed on Kent and did not get hurt, however he sustained multiple injuries. Kent was flown to a hospital in Odessa Saturday night, then on to Parkland in Dallas. Kent has 22 broken ribs, (5 broken in 2 places) a lacerated kidney and a complete fracture of his T7 with multiple other vertebrae fractures. He does have some fluid build up in his lungs, so they are waiting for that to clear before they do surgery. He is scheduled for spinal surgery tomorrow, November 8th at Zale Lipshy Hospital. As long as there are no complications, it will be a long recovery, but will work out fine.
He is in good spirits and his lung capacity is increasing. The family asks to check for updates on CaringBridge instead of phone calls. Kent and Tracy thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts.
