[Vision2020] Donate to Help Drake Akin, 12, of Genesee

[Saundra Lund]

Visionaries,

The following appeared in this weekend's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily
News.  I'm passing it along in case any of you are interested in making a
donation for Drake's current and future medical expenses.
_____

Genesee boy remains in intensive care; Friends set up fund to help pay
medical expenses 

By Kate Baldwin, Daily News staff writer 
Published: 06-10-2006 

Genesee resident Drake Akin, 12, is expected to remain in the intensive care
unit at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane for three more weeks while
recovering from a June 2 bicycle-automobile accident. 

Akin has been in critical condition since the accident. 

Angie Derting, a friend of the family, said he is doing "way better than
what they thought . but he definitely has a long haul ahead of him." 

The accident happened when Akin was riding his Peugeot racing bicycle
eastbound on Ash Street in Genesee around 3 p.m.  After failing to stop at a
stop sign, he struck the side of a northbound 1989 Toyota pick-up truck
driven by Joseph E. Swanson, 28, of Genesee, according to a report from the
Idaho State Police. 

Akin, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained severe head injuries. 

He also broke his left arm, wrist and scapula.  He underwent a second
surgery Thursday to replace a shunt that is draining fluid from his head
injuries, Derting said. 

"He did well in the surgery and is recovering well.  He's even been taken
off the ventilator," she said. 

He recognized his parents and is now communicating and responding, said
Derting, who was last updated Friday morning by Akin's mother, Julia Akin.
His father, Warren, is a middle school teacher at Sacajawea Junior High
School in Lewiston.  His brothers, Alec and Zane, attend Genesee School. 

"It was a boy being a boy, not wearing a helmet and going too fast," Derting
said.  "It could've happened to anybody . just the wrong place at the wrong
time." 

Akin first was taken to Gritman Medical Center, where doctors determined he
needed care in Spokane. 

The Calvary Chapel Church in Lewiston launched a phone prayer chain right
after the accident, Derting said.  An e-mail prayer chain led by the First
Church of the Nazarene in Lewiston also is circulating. 

"Through many, many prayers and Jesus working a miracle, he is doing way
better than expected," Derting said. 

More surgeries and long-term rehabilitation are ahead, she added. 

Derting and her husband, Jay, have established a fund to help support the
Akin Family with current and future expenses related to the accident.
Donations will be collected through the Drake Akin Benefit Fund at any Wells
Fargo Bank. 

She said they have been receiving lots of inquiries regarding Akin's
recovery. 

"Genesee is a small community . there are lots of people wanting to help,"
she said. 

Kate Baldwin can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, or by e-mail at
kbaldwin at dnews.com. 


HOW TO HELP 
Donations may be deposited at any Wells Fargo Bank or checks may be made out
to the "Drake Akin Benefit Fund" and mailed to: 
Drake Akin Benefit Fund 
c/o Jay Derting 
1045 Seventh Street 
Clarkston, WA 99403 

For more information contact, (509) 751-8719.