Local cowboy recovering from crash

LaCROSSE - A local cowboy is recovering after a March 19 crash.

Caleb Berquist, 23, of LaCrosse, suffered significant and critical injuries Sunday night, March 19, when his side-by-side overturned on the family ranch.

The son of Shane and Kim Berquist, he is out of surgery, and his mother reports her son is on the mend and making daily progress.

"We are making a little bit of progress every day, which is good," Kim Berquiest said Friday. "He finally got fitted with a brace today, and we saw him sit up on the edge of the bed."

His family reports more movement in his lower extremities after he lost all feeling below the waist.

"His leg has to remain straight for three weeks, and then he'll get back into surgery," she said.

Surgeons will repair two ligaments at that time.

"We are trying to get everything in line to go to Craig Hospital in Colorado for rehab," she said.

The rodeo cowboy was injured while trying to move yearlings with his dogs when his side-by-side flipped off a cow trail and rolled down a steep hill, records show.

He attempted to jump out of the vehicle, but was crushed by the impact.

He suffered many injuries, including a broken rib; a punctured lung; a crushed T12 vertebra; severe anterior cruciate, medial collateral, Posterior Cruciate and lateral collateral ligament damage; and substantial bruising.

Caleb Berquist did not suffer or lose conciseness throughout the ordeal.

He was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane and underwent a six-and-a-half-hour-long surgery on Tuesday, March 21, his mother said.

Neurosurgeons removed the crushed T12 vertebra, she said. Surgeons also put a plate and four screws above it, mirroring the same below the vertebra. Also placed was a stabilization rod in his back to stabilize it.

Orthopedic surgeons later screwed his MCL to his femur and repaired his patella.

"He's looking forward to getting back to ranching. He loves to be on his horses and work with his dogs," Kim Berquist said.

His family reports that his loved dogs - Omaha, Scoob, and Faith - never left his side after the crash.

Caleb Berquist has achieved a lot of success in the rodeo arena. He was also part of the Montana State University rodeo scene.

His younger sister, Sydney Berquist, is following in his bootprints at the same university.

He competed in many tie-down roping championships and befriended many of his fellow competitors. Many of those competitors are now hosting events to raise money for Caleb.

"Rodeo families are holding some events that are going on. Quite a few are in Montanna," Kim Berquist said said.

A GoFundMe page was created to raise $50,000 to support him.

The GoFundMe was initially created for Caleb Berquiest's friend, Beau Cooper, to help raise money for his rodeoing this year. However, after hearing the news of Caleb, Cooper offered to give all the donations for his friend's health care.

The GoFundMe can be found online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/Beau-Cooper-rodeo.

As of press time, 730 people had donated to the account.

A second GoFundMe page has also been set up by Caleb Berquist's rodeo partner Teegan Leno.

"Caleb has been my college and pro rodeo partner as well as my best friend for the past 2 years," Leno wrote on the page.

His GoFundMe page can be found at http://www.gofundme.com/f/fundraising-raffle-for-caleb-berquist.

The family is incredibly touched by the community and the support for her son.

"Thank you for the outpour of support. We are overwhelmed and so thankful to live in such an amazing community," Kim Berqueist said. "We are very blessed for our rodeo family."

With permission from the Berquist family, cards can be sent to Caleb Berquist, P.O. Box 48, Lacrosse, WA 99143.