Farm Rescue makes a difference in Hazen
By Lee Coleman
The day was March 28 of this year. Hazen cattle rancher Kenny Forster was riding an all terrain vehicle as he worked on the fences around his ranch.
Without warning, that day became a day Forster will never forget.
With fencing piled on the back of his ATV, Forster inadvertently drove the vehicle off a nine-foot cliff. Trying to step off as soon as he realized his mistake, his foot was caught in either the fencing or some wire and he was unable to get out of harm’s way.
The ATV tumbled end-over-end, landing on top of Forster at least twice.
For two hours, he lay there without any help, with 18 broken ribs in the front and back, a broken collarbone and two collapsed lungs. The broken ribs pierced his lungs, causing massive bleeding.
Once help arrived, he was stabilized at Sakakawea Medical Center and airlifted to Bismarck. At the hospital, he was induced into a three-week coma and administered 12 units of blood in the process.
Doctors said his physical conditioning and not being a smoker likely saved his life while he was in the hospital for 48 days.
Fast forward to today. With 250 head of Red Angus cattle to be fed, Forster received the help he needed with his hay crops from Farm Rescue in conjunction with RDO Equipment.
RDO donated the equipment for haying and Farm Rescue provided volunteers to harvest 1,000 bales of hay for the Forster ranch. The haying concluded Monday.
