RECOVERING: Going slow for DePestel and Gregor

Minneota has been inundated lately with serious accidents that put local people in physically serious situations.

One is Bubba DePestel, former owner of Bubba’s Var, who was seriously hurt when he fell 15 feet from a deer stand just a couple miles south of Minneota.

Another is Pam Gregor, the veteran who was involved in a head-on crash near Paynesville and who has been fighting to recover the past couple of weeks.

Fortunately, it appears Minneota High School junior Landon Rolbiecki is “out of the woods” and is getting good reports from doctors after suffering two severe breaks in his leg in a football game.

Rolbecki is home and has been attending his team’s football games in a wheelchair. However, concern has turned to the recovery of DePestel.

His son Neal DePestel posted, “We found out yesterday he had a collapsed lung that could have happened anytime.”

According to the report, “He has a draining tube in his chest to drain the fluid and has been struggling with breathing.”

The post added, “To help with this, he is scheduled to have surgery on his collar bone.”

DePestel had back surgery and apparently it went well. “He has more mobility and strength in his legs that he did before surgery.”

A report indicated, “The surgeon is not sure how much better he will get, but with therapy we are hopeful for continued recovery,” reported Penny Orth, his partner.

DePestel was transferred to Avera McKennan Hospital on Friday night. He had and MRI when he got there and they discovered a hemotoma on his spine, so he went into surgery.

“They removed this and also did fusing, putting a plate and screws in as well. It’s all extremely risky, but Bubba is a fighter. It was a four-hour procedure,” said Orth.

Later she reported, “Bubba is out of surgery and in his room. Everything went well and we are optimistic. He already has more movement in his right leg than he did before surgery.”

Pam Gregor improving

Pam was in a head-on collision on October 28 between Richmond and Paynesville.

After spending over a week in the ICU, “She is slowly on the road to recovery. She is still currently at HCMC in Minneapolis, and has many months of rehab ahead of her,” said her daughter Stephanie Christoffels last week.

Later she reported, “Mom is continuing to grow stronger and making strides toward being released and moved to a rehab facility,” said her daughter, Stephanie Christoffels.

“Each day sees a little bit more improvement. She started working with OT/PT in an effort to get her ready to move to a rehab facility, which we are hoping she can do soon.”

Christoffels added, “She did need foot surgery this week to repair two broken bones in her foot.”

She added, “We finally feel like she can breathe a little better and rest a little easier. There’s still a long road ahead, but it doesn’t seem as daunting now,” Christoffels added.

Landon Rolbiecki recovering

There’s a long way to go for Landon Rolbiecki, but he’s home, recuperating and socializing with his friends once again.

He’s been able to spend time with his teammates, who have been delivering wins for him.

He may need one more surgery, said his father John Rolbiecki. Landon returned to the hospital for a checkup this week.

But is still back home with his parents.