On the mend in Fremont

An 80-year-old Fremont, Neb., woman is recovering nearly three months after suffering life-threatening injuries when she was struck by a piece of metal from homemade fireworks.

Ioma Sukstorf could easily have died, said her son, Mike Sukstorf of Fremont.

“We thought we had lost her more than once,” he said. “She was in and out of the (intensive care unit) a couple times.”

Ioma Sukstorf was struck in the face by a large piece of metal while sitting with her husband, Loyd, on their cabin porch about a mile south of Fremont along the Platte River on July 5.

She declined an interview request, but two of her three sons talked about their mother's ordeal.

“There was a large hole in her cheek,” Mike Sukstorf said. “We probably sat for a month by her bedside before she even knew we were there with her.”

Sukstorf, 60, said his mother was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha immediately after the accident and underwent six hours of surgery.

All her teeth were either knocked out or broken, and doctors had to implant plates in the roof of her mouth.

“All of her food has to be put through a blender,” he said. “The doctors said she will be fitted with dentures later.”

He said his mother doesn't remember the incident and “just wants to put it behind her as soon as possible.”

A man had been shooting off “a makeshift cannon” about 80 feet from the porch where Ioma Sukstorf was sitting, Dodge County authorities said. She was hit with metal when a piece of pipe from the cannon broke off.

David J. Parr, 38, of Lincoln has been charged with second-degree felony assault. If convicted, he faces a possible penalty of one to 20 years in prison.

Dodge County Attorney Paul Vaughan dismissed two felony charges — being in possession of a destructive device and use of an explosive device to commit a felony. He also dismissed a misdemeanor charge of being in possession of illegal fireworks.

Vaughan said the additional charges against Parr added little to the state's case and might unnecessarily complicate it.

Ioma Sukstorf spent six weeks at the medical center before moving to a rehabilitation clinic at Immanuel Medical Center for about two weeks. At Immanuel, she got out of her wheelchair and learned to walk again.

She was then transferred to the A.J. Merrick Manor rehabilitation center in Fremont for three more weeks of therapy before being released last Thursday.

“She was really lucky to make it through this at all,” said Jeff Sukstorf, 57, of Spearfish, S.D. “When I saw her at Immanuel, I couldn't believe how much improvement she had made from those days in the hospital.”

His mother had just recovered from a broken wrist when she was injured by the fireworks.

“Now it's like she's starting all over again, but she's up and walking and talking. She's not letting anything keep her down,” he said.

Contact the writer:

444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com