CAMANO ISLAND – What went through the horse’s mind is a mystery.
Whatever the thought was, the horse’s action has forced friends, family and the community to rally support for the reconstructive surgeries Nathan Lynn will need in the next few months.
The 4-year-old Camano Island boy lost his ear May 15 when the next-door neighbor’s horse bit most of it off.
The unexpected medical bills are stacking up. The 17-minute helicopter ride cost $9,000, and the family is facing about $15,000 in unpaid medical and personal bills, the boy’s family said.
A benevolent fund has been set up in Darlene M. Burke’s name for Nathan Lynn at Washington Mutual, and the family is planning a car wash and other fund-raisers.
At this point, the family isn’t sure how much insurance will cover but knows their son will have a long road to recovery.
“It’s been a nightmare,” said Farrah Lynn, Nathan’s mother.
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How you can help
A benevolent fund has been set up for Nathan Lynn in Darlene M. Burke’s name at Washington Mutual. Donations can be made at any Washington Mutual bank branch.
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Nathan was helping his father, Chris, and a family cousin, Kristopher, feed the horse by tossing hay from their backyard over the fence.
At one point, Nathan bent down to grab some more hay. The horse inexplicably busted through a fence, latched its teeth onto Nathan’s ear and yanked him through the fence into the dry trough in its pen, Farrah Lynn said. The boy had not taunted the horse, she added. The horse’s pen was too small, though, and its owners had talked of its ill temper, she said.
“They told us it’s a pretty crazy horse,” she said.
Nathan’s father quickly intervened, but it was too late.
“There was blood everywhere,” Farrah Lynn said.
Medics called in a helicopter, which took the boy to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The ear was retrieved and put on ice, but surgeons were unable to reattach it, she said.
Five days later, Nathan had the first of a few surgeries he will have to endure to rebuild the ear as best as is possible.
“They had to cut 5 inches on his tummy and take out one of his ribs,” Farrah Lynn said.
Using cartilage from that rib, the surgical team began building a new ear. They pulled skin up over the cartilage from behind where his lobe used to be.
At least three more follow-up surgeries will be necessary. First will be a skin graft on Sept. 9. Then they’ll do another skin graft using skin from his groin area.
Once that heals, Nathan will have to go through another operation. In later years, he will probably need more surgery, because nerve damage will probably prevent the new ear from growing, she said.
The damage did not appear to affect his hearing, although testing will need to confirm that.
Nathan turned 4 on June 12. That happy day aside, he and his family have not fully recovered from the emotional trauma.
His mother can tell Nathan is sensitive about how his ear looks now that the bandage from the original surgery is removed.
“He wants the bandage back on,” she said. “He’s scared to bonk it, scared to fall.”
The nightmares were continuing a couple weeks after the accident.
“Every night, he’s screaming,” she said. “He needs counseling.”
She didn’t put much blame on the horse, given his situation.
“It’s hard to think of him as just evil,” she said.
She hasn’t talked to the neighbors, though. It’s still too painful, and she admits being angry.
Fortunately, the family has the support of the Camano Chapel congregation and the Mothers Of Preschoolers (MOPS) program there.
“We’ve got the power of prayer going on over here.”
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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