Every day, Elis Wideman is closer to going home.
Elis, 8, of Richwoods in northeastern Washington County just south of De Soto is at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Hospital in Maryland Heights recovering from serious injuries he suffered in a car accident Oct. 16. Two of his siblings died in the crash while another was hurt along with their father, Zachary Wideman, 36.
Elis sustained injuries to his abdomen and right leg and was scheduled to have surgery this week in which doctors would perform a skin graft on his abdominal wall.
“That’s one of our main steps getting home,” said Elis’ mother, Lauren Fleming, 29. “He’s doing so well with sliding board transfers and moving his legs. He’s been fitted for a wheelchair and leg braces.”
Once home, Elis will face challenges most second-graders could never imagine. He uses a catheter to urinate, and his colon was so damaged he has to use an ostomy bag. Fleming said he could have surgery later to remove the bag.
“Elis wasn’t wearing the seatbelt strap over his chest,” Fleming said. “The impact was to his midsection. They (doctors) said it tore his colon like a noodle.”
She said Elis doesn’t have any memory loss or damage to the brain. During my visit to the hospital, he was busy playing games on his phone after reading and math games and talking about what he’s going to do when he leaves. He wanted to watch “Family Guy” later with his mom. When I found her that morning, she was buried under covers in a bed in Wideman’s room.
“The doctor said I’m moving my left leg fine and they thought I wouldn’t move my (right) leg again, except I can now,” Elis said. “I can feel the bone going all the way to my knee. It feels good when I crack my toes.”
He added he wants to surprise his family and be in the car with his mom when she picks up his other siblings at school.
“I think we can definitely make that happen,” she said, smiling.
He said he wasn’t looking forward to his surgery. “Mom, you’re going to be there, aren’t you?” he asked, and of course she said yes.
Elis thinks and talks a lot about his brother, Linkin Wideman, 6, who died from injuries sustained in the accident along with his sister, Amelia Biri, 10. According to a report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Zachary Wideman was driving when the vehicle failed to negotiate a curve, overcorrected and went off the road before striking a tree.
Biri died from her injuries at the scene while Linkin and Elis were transported to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis by separate emergency helicopters. One of the first people on the accident scene was a truck driver who Fleming said gave Linkin CPR before paramedics arrived.
Linkin died Oct. 25. His family, including Elis, were there with him.
“I saw Linkin was on life support,” Fleming said. “The damage to his neck was so severe – the part that controls your heartbeat, arm and leg movement. We had several meetings (with doctors) for two weeks, waited and prayed, and finally on Oct. 25 decided to make Linkin an organ donor.
“We all got to say our goodbyes while Linkin was on life support. Elis got to see him and hold his hand. He was heartbroken. He said, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do it without Linkin, (but) I’m going to (recover) for Linkin.”
The Wideman brothers were only 18 months apart. Fleming said they were extremely close, sharing a room together. Not long before the accident, Linkin got into trouble for breaking his mom’s phone.
“I kept my cool,” she said. “I told him he was in trouble and to go to (his) room. It was close to bedtime anyway. Linkin was crying because he knew he messed up. And Elis comes over and says, ‘Mom, I can’t stand to see Linkin cry like this.’ I told Elis he was going to be fine. But Elis was so empathetic and heartbroken.
“Being boys, you normally don’t get those sweet moments.”
Despite damage to an artery in his right leg, Elis is expected to be able to walk using braces and a walker. Fleming has been remodeling his room; he’ll need a stander for exercising and possibly a hospital bed.
Elis loves to play soccer. Time will tell whether he can return to the game.
“I believe in miracles and I believe God has been with us this entire time,” Fleming said. “I’ve had dreams of Elis walking again. It might look different, but it’s going to happen. He’s so strong-willed and determined.
“He’s my rainbow child. I had him after I lost another baby in 2013. He has been my life through all of this. I literally don’t know what I would have done without him.”
Fleming said she yearns for the normalcy of their pre-accident life. She divides her time between the hospital and home.
“I get the other kids up, get them ready for school, stop and get our doughnuts, drop them off,” she said. “We live a pretty active life. Just a week before the accident, I had gotten off work early and I had taken the kids to Elephant Rocks (state park). It’s one of the last pictures I have of Linkin.”
Trucks 4 Kidz is a charitable organization that helps families locate missing children and bring them home safely. The charity’s founder, Anthony (Nino) Accardi, 33, was born and raised in Cedar Hill and graduated from Northwest. He’s also the line coach and marketing director for the Missouri Falcons semiprofessional football team.
While Elis doesn’t directly come under the charity’s mission, Accardi said after he met him, he couldn’t think of a better cause than to help out the family. The Falcons, with players between ages 18 and 35 and mostly from Franklin County, play home games in St. Clair. Their home opener is April 13 vs. Kansas City. Elis, his mom, family and friends have been invited as special guests.
“He’s a little brother to the team,” Accardi said. “They (Falcons) met him on a video chat. I met him personally. We want to help give him the strength to fight harder every day. Our motto is, ‘Day by day, we get better.’
“Seeing him smile on the video chat and ask questions, it makes our brotherhood stronger and we’re fighting just as hard to win a championship,” Accardi said.
I was struck by how Elis wasn’t overcome with sadness or anger despite such personal and physical loss. I was equally impressed with how his mom could shift from conversations with hospital staff about a bill, to talking with me, and staying laser-focused on her son.
“Life’s been crazy,” she said. “It has not been easy by any means. We had normal routines and jobs. We have several other kids at home. Stability was one of our big things. Since the accident, everything has been so unsure.
“Elis is learning to do something new every single day. We’re always in the ‘new’ and adjusting to the lifestyle we’ll be living in the future. It’s not going to be the same as it was. I’m fine with that, but it’s really hard.”