Plants makes big strides in recovery

Two Fallon residents are improving after suffering critical injuries from an accident on June 14.

Stacia Stone is the aunt of Derek and Kameron Plants, who crashed their moped on Casey Road with Kameron Plants coming to the rescue of his brother.

Derek Plants, 23, suffered a critical head injury after the crash and Kameron Plants performed CPR to restore Derek Plants’ breathing, Stone said.

Both were transported to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno with Derek Plants in critical condition with five skull fractures. He remains in the intensive care unit (ICU), although Stone said the family received good news Monday when he walked.

“He was not doing well when he arrived here Sunday morning (June 14) and they did not think he was going to make it,” Stone said. “Through God’s grace and an extensive amount of prayer he went from not going to make it to walking 100 feet with assistance. He’s communicating and alert.”

Kameron Plants, 22, meanwhile, also suffered numerous injuries but was discharged from the hospital on June 16. Tests did not reveal any broken bones or internal bleeding.

“Kameron is doing well, (but) he is still really banged up,” Stone explained. “He is really concerned with his brother’s recovery at this point. Kameron saved his life and administered CPR before CareFlight got there.”

As a result of the accident, medical costs are starting to pile up for Derek Plants. Stone created a gofundme page, which has tallied $4,625 as of Tuesday.

Plants, meanwhile, had his first breakthrough on Saturday, according to Stone, when he was able to breathe on his own and sit on the edge of his hospital bed.

She added medical personnel perform neurological tests every two hours, with Plants slowly improving.

Stone, though, said doctors and nurses at Renown have given no timetable for Plants recovery, but she said it will likely take months.

Upon being admitted, Plants underwent numerous MRI’s and CT scans, which revealed swelling and increased pressure in his brain. In the past week, however, the injuries have begun to reverse course giving the family signs of hope, Stone said.

“The calls and people wanting to see him has been overwhelming,” Stone said. “The nurses noticed the biggest difference in Derek’s recovery when he realized just how much family was around him. So we plastered his room with pictures of his kids, nieces and cousins and friends and family.”

Currently, Plants cannot speak as he has a tracheotomy tube inserted into his neck.

Stone organized the online drive to help pay for Plants’ medical and family expenses as they continue to mount.

The drive centers on Plants’ truck color, orange, which friends and family have been sporting in various ways including on their vehicles.

He has two children, who are currently residing with his girlfriend’s (Mayra Rico) family as she remains in Reno at Plants’ bedside alongside his mother, Vikki Plants, and other friends and family members.

Derek Plants works at Naval Air Station Fallon, although Stone said it will be months before he is able to return to work.

“That is why we have this donation page,” she said.

Once he is able to move, it is expected he will have extensive amounts of physical and speech therapy ahead of him, Stone explained.

“His motions are slow, but they believe that will possibly remedy itself over time with extensive therapy,” she added.

The Nevada Highway Patrol is investigating the accident after the Churchill County Sheriff’s Department responded to the initial call.