KENSINGTON — A teenager from Kandiyohi is waking up and communicating with his family at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, where he’s been since a ski accident near Alexandria Feb. 25.
Malachi Elmhorst, 17, has been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury since the accident, which occurred at Andes Tower Hills near Kensington.
Malachi, a junior at Community Christian School of Willmar, had been in a drug-induced coma, and his caregivers began waking him up Tuesday.
“I would call it a miracle,” Malachi’s father Seth Elmhorst said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.
They know that Malachi has had bleeding and damage throughout his brain, he said, but his first day awake has been filled with accomplishments.
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According to his dad, Malachi has been aware of his surroundings and able to carry on conversations. He’s been able to eat by himself and drink from a glass of water. He can stand up and walk in place, but he tires quickly from physical therapy at this point.
There could be other issues as his recovery continues, but the family is very happy with his progress so far, Seth Elmhorst said.
Seth Elmhorst said he and his wife Rachel have large families who are helping them handle things at home with their other children. Malachi is the second-older of six children, two girls and four boys, ranging in age from 19 to 7.
The family has asked that friends and family send emails to miracles4malachi@gmail.com with favorite memories of experiences they’ve had with Malachi or tell stories about the way he’s touched their lives. Photos or funny stories are on the list, too.
The messages will be shared with him during his recovery.
Elmhorst said others who would like to send messages of encouragement are welcome to write to Malachi, too, that it would help “to know there are people out there who care and are praying.”
