FARMINGTON – Farmington teacher and ski coach, Rick Hardy, critically injured in a fall from his roof Sunday, has a slight touch of pneumonia but was upgraded to fair condition Friday at a Lewiston hospital.
Hardy, 52, was up on the roof of his Farmington home fixing heating tape when he fell off and landed on his head. He had surgery Sunday evening at Central Maine Medical Center and has started to show improvement since Monday.
A Web site www.rickhardy.homestead.com set up by Michelle Witt, friend and fellow teacher, went online Friday afternoon. A bank account has also been established for donations to defer any medical and rehabilitation costs.
Hardy has taught school 30 years in SAD 9, currently teaching fifth grade at Cascade Brook School. He is also well-known for his skiing and coaching prowess on the slopes, skiing for SAD 9 as a child and racing for University of Maine at Farmington as a college student and guiding Mt. Blue High School ski team to numerous Class A ski championships.
SAD 9 Superintendent Michael Cormier, the family’s spokesman, said Friday morning that the update for the day was that things remain pretty much the same as the day before.
Hardy is quite active when his medication is lessened, Cormier said.
The puffiness is starting to decrease and he is looking more like himself, he said. He is also beginning to respond to stimulation to his feet and following movement with his eyes, he said.
Hardy, still in a semi-coma, was also moved to a chair and sat up for a while Thursday.
Doctors have also taken out a pressure monitor, which had monitored swelling in the brain, Cormier said.
People will be able to check Hardy’s progress daily on the Web site and post a note if they want to, family friend and Franklin Savings Bank President Peter Judkins said Friday.
Judkins established an account at the bank for Hardy for donations to defer costs associated with his injury, he said.
Donations may be sent to: Rick Hardy Fund, Attention: Peter Judkins, 198 Front St., PO Box 825, Farmington, ME 04938.
Hardy was born and raised in Farmington and learned to ski at Titcomb Mountain and then taught many of Franklin County’s youth to ski.
“He’s one of my best friends,” Judkins said. “He’s one of the greatest guys to walk the earth. “Rick is one of those guys who has touched so many people. He has a positive attitude. Even if he didn’t like doing something, you’d never hear him say it.”
Hardy’s wife, Carol, a reading teacher at Jay Middle School, is doing great, Judkins said.
“She’s holding up wonderful,” he said.
Their children are very supportive, he said. Daughter Molly was in Germany and came home, and son Luke, who lives in Farmington, and son Jake, who attends Bates College in Lewiston, have all been there to support their parents, he said.
Comments are no longer available on this story