August 11, 2026 Update

Austin is Breathing on His Own and Starting to Show Signs of Recovery

Today, his ventilator was switched to pressure support. This means Austin is now breathing on his own. Tomorrow, the doctors will put in a tracheostomy tube (a small tube in the neck to help with breathing) mid-morning. We saw a nice sign when Austin flexed his big toe upwards on his left foot a few times today.  We could see he was bothered when the nurse was cleaning his mouth with the suction, as he moved his head.  We noticed some more eye movements and fluttering today as well. 
We did find out a little more about what happened… he was hit by a car on the left side, which ejected him off the motorcycle. Then another car slammed on their brakes as the motorcycle was in front of them but ended up hitting the back end and ran it over.  All parties remained on the scene.  We will not receive the accident report until next week. And the thorough crash scene investigation won’t be available for a few more weeks or possibly a month. 

We are very hopeful and glad to see these small steps. This means his body is working hard to get better. Austin still has a big journey ahead of him, but we are standing by him with love and prayers. Each day is a new chance for him to heal and get stronger. Let's keep sending him positive thoughts and prayers to help him fight through this.