Mr. Fred Bruce

Mr Bruce holds up a vehicle piston to show students during mechanics class.

I was riding in the arena, working one of our horses, Angel, when she fell with me. From what I can tell, Angel seems to be doing ok. I was the one who took the worst of it. I suffered a pretty bad open fracture to the bones above and below my elbow. When I was in the ambulance, I was talking to God and thinking, “God, you promised in Romans 8:28, ‘all things work together for the good of those who love God.’ How is this working for good?”

Any time you have an open fracture, it needs to be operated on right away to clean it. The nurses told me I was fortunate that there was an operating room open, “It’s rare to come to Flagstaff and find one available,” they said. I was also blessed to have the right personnel to provide the kind of operation I would need. The nurse told me, “Our best orthopedic surgeon happens to be in town today.” The surgeon was afraid they would have to put a pin in my joint to stabilize the damage, but the procedure went well without the need to do so.

Perhaps the primary good that came out of this incident was, ironically, the break itself. In June, I had a total joint replacement on my right shoulder, the same shoulder above my fractured right elbow. After my operation for this recent accident, the surgeon told me, “You may not be counting blessings, but it was kind of a blessing that you broke your elbow because it took away the impact from your shoulder to preserve it .” The way in which I fell had my elbow and the bones surrounding it taking the full force of the fall. Had my shoulder taken the total force, it might have messed it up.

When I had my two-week check-up, I asked the doctor, “When can I go back to work?” He laughed and asked, “You really want to go back to work?” I said yes. I am here at Holbrook to work with our students, and if I am laid up with an injury, I can’t do that. I have a love and passion for our students. The doctor indulged me with two conditions to abide by: do not use that hand for anything and do not get it bumped.

I realized that although bad things happen, God looks after us. It worked out that Jerena, a past student I taught, was willing to come and help me continue with my school tasks.

Editor’s Note: Mr. Bruce teaches Horsemanship, Welding, and Auto-Mechanics. Jerena Hunter is a 2012 graduate of Holbrook Indian School (HIS). Mr. Bruce was the senior sponsor during her senior year.

Jerena heard about Mr. Bruce’s accident and returned to help out. She has been assisting for the past month.

Jerena Hunter

I was working for the Navajo Government Census while staying with my mom when I found out about Mr. Bruce’s accident. My family thought I was risking my health and safety working with the Census on the reservation during this pandemic. (I had cases where there were households with COVID-19. As a Census worker, I was notified about this, so I knew who specifically to keep social distance when coming upon a home.) For me, all I could think of was helping my family financially. My dad’s recent passing put a financial and emotional strain on them. I needed some sort of income.

Jerena reunited with Skipper as she helps to care for the horses.

Soon after, I found out about the accident through Mr. and Mrs. Bruce’s posted update on social media. He was ok, but he would be unable to do most of his tasks as a teacher. What came to mind was, “Who is taking care of Skipper? Who’s going to feed him? Mrs. Bruce can’t do that all by herself.” I graduated in 2012 from HIS. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce were my senior sponsors during my senior year, so I had grown very close to them. Horsemanship, one of the classes Mr. Bruce had taught, was my favorite class, and Skipper was the horse I rode. When I heard about the accident, I bought a get-well card and wrote a message that I was here if they needed help.

Meanwhile, back on the reservation, I had vehicle problems and didn’t know how I would continue doing my work? A few days later, Mr. Bruce called me and asked if I was serious about helping. I told him I was, especially now that I couldn’t continue working with the Census. When I talked on the phone with the principal, Mr. Ojeda, he told me he would arrange for me to get paid for my assistance. I was thinking of coming to volunteer. I didn’t know there was going to be any pay involved.

Now I have been working here as Mr. Bruce’s right hand (literally) for about a month, helping him do physical tasks that he’s not able to do because of his injuries. I help him in his Welding and Mechanics classes and by taking care of the horses.

My dad would always say, “Some things happen for a reason.” When my car broke down, that came to my mind.