Helping a family heal

Durangoan Austin Keils described his Thanksgiving Day in gruesome detail.

“It was a freak accident,” he said, “We were only driving maybe 10 miles per hour.”

Keils, 22, was in the passenger seat of an SUV that lost control on the loose gravel of Missionary Ridge Road. The 2000 Toyota 4Runner slid over the edge and rolled multiple times, ejecting Keils who was not wearing a seat belt. The SUV rolled over him once. He suffered a broken back.

His 2-year-old daughter, Emberleigh Morris-Keils, suffered a hairline fracture of her left arm. The driver, William Smith, and another passenger escaped unscathed.

After the accident, Keils was driven to Animas Surgical Hospital and later airlifted to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, where he underwent four hours of back surgery.

Keils, a sales associate at AutoZone in Durango, is now looking at about $300,000 in medical bills, if not more, he said. He’ll be out of work until his doctor gives him permission to return.

“The helicopter ride alone cost $10,000,” he said. “By my third day in the hospital, my bill was $251,000.”

But, in the spirit of the holiday season, close friends and downtown businesses have jumped to his aid.

Thanks to a holiday window-painting fundraiser, Keils has secured a small amount of money to help pay for his growing expenses.

Leah Conrad, who is the mother of Keils’ friend Candice Smith, came to Durango a few days after the accident to decorate downtown windows and raise money for Keils. Candice Smith is the wife of William Smith.

Conrad paints murals in the Denver-area as a side job and hobby. In Durango, she painted snow flurries and “embers angels” with her sister, Joni Paul.

“I free-hand all the designs,” Conrad said.

Some of the businesses with painted window designs include Carver Brewing Co., RE/MAX Pinnacle, The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4031 and Skywalker Construction. A handful of businesses that opted out of a mural were able to help with a small donation, Conrad said.

Conrad raised about $200 worth of gift cards and $400 in cash and checks, Candice Smith said.

“Businesses have been caring and generous,” she said.

Keils and Smith both said they are considering auctioning the gift cards several businesses donated to raise more money for his recovery fund.

Residents can make donations to a recovery fund Smith set up at Alpine Bank.

Smith, who works at FASTSIGNS, also started an online fundraiser at gofundme.com to pay for additional day-to-day expenses. Money donated online also goes directly into the Alpine Bank account for Keils and his daughter.

“They are great people, and his daughter is the sweetest little angel,” Smith said. “I wanted to make sure he would be able to eat, pay rent and that he’d have money to pay for day care.”

As of Friday, the fundraising website showed $90 raised out of the listed goal of $10,000, which is just a starting point, Smith said.

Conrad doesn’t have any immediate plans to return to Durango to paint more murals unless specifically requested by more businesses. She can be reached at (720) 373-3434.

For now, Keils’ grandmother, Vicki Stone, is acting as his caregiver.

Stone said her grandson was fortunate he wasn’t paralyzed.

“God has a purpose for that boy’s life,” she said.

Keils was surprised to see how quickly members of the community rushed to his aid, even if it was by donating a few dollars.

“I didn’t even know this was going to happen,” Keils said. “I’m really, really thankful for it. It’s been a struggle.”

vguthrie@durangoherald.com

On the Net

Donations for Austin Keils and his daughter, Emberleigh, can be made at Alpine Bank or online at http://www.gofundme.com/hzs2ac.