Racing To Recovery: Shane Hmiel's 3rd Surgery Delayed; Updated 10/21 9:45PM

In a road to recovery that is going to take a long time, Shane Hmiel has been going through a lot following an accident in USAC qualifying.

Hmiel has already gone through two successful surgeries, one for a broken neck and one for a broken back.

Hmiel was expected to have a third surgery Friday morning at 8:00a.m. for a torn artery in his neck, however that surgery was postponed till Monday afternoon.

According to his mom, the surgery got postponed on Friday due to irregular heartbeat and some buildup of yuck in his lungs. They removed the buildup, which allowed his breathing to be much smoother and easier.

Today, however, the surgery has been postponed once again as he has pneumonia. They've got him on a special bed, which flips you face down for three hours and then up for one hour, which seems to be loosening things up rapidly.  

For continued updates from the Hmiel family, check out the Shane Hmiel - Road to Recovery Facebook page where updates are posted daily from his mom, Lisa.

The injuries were caused following a wreck in qualifying. During qualifying, USAC officials report, Hmiel flipped in turns three and four, with the top of the roll cage bouncing off the wall. Initial reports said that Hmiel was unresponsive at the scene. He was then airlifted to Indianapolis Methodist Hospital.

To help raise money for the family to pay for the medical expenses, USAC is selling the "Racing to Recovery" decals on their site for $5.00 and RWB Motorsports is selling the 2010 T-shirt on their site for $25.00.

Hmiel has been working at rebuilding his racing career after receiving a lifetime ban from NASCAR in 2005 after failing a substance abuse test.

During his NASCAR career, Hmiel made seven Cup starts in two seasons. He made a total of 83 Nationwide starts over four years, earning 23 top-10 finishes, 10 of them top-fives. He made a total of 29 Camping World Truck Series starts, winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2004.

Update 10/18/2010 7:24PM

Hmiel's mom Lisa just posted an update stating that things are improving. She said that his vital signs are looking more stable and the pneumonia is breaking up as a result of the rotating bed.

Update 10/19/2010 11:19PM

The update posted from the Hmiel family shows that things are improving as the capsule bed is moving the fluids around in his lungs, his stats are looking much better and the fever is almost normal.

Update 10/19/2010 1:19PM

The afternoon update posted from the Hmiel family states that they met with the ICU doctors and the capsule bed is slowly pushing out the fluid, though it's still a long process.

Update 10/20/2010 9:36AM

The Hmiel family reports this morning that things are improving as there is less yuck in his lungs and his fever is down. They added that it'll be a couple more days of him in the bed getting rid of the yuck, however when he was out of it, he was answering commands by shaking his head and moving his arms.

Update 10/202010 10:02PM

The afternoon update stated that the x-rays came back looking better than yesterday. Lisa, Shane's mom, added that they turned down the o2 and Shane seemed to be tolerating it well.

This evening, Lisa posted a thank you note via the facebook page for all the prayers and concerns: thanks to all the prayers and thoughts and emails i read as many as possible and find comfort in how many people are with us during this very trying time thanks again to all------lisa hmiel

Update 10/21/2010 10:31AM

An update was posted this morning stating that there was no fever and his stats were awesome as of 4am. If the x-ray shows things are better, then the surgery for the torn artery in his neck will be soon.

Update 10/21/2010 9:45PM

An update this afternoon stated Shane was doing well. Instead of three hours face down and one hour up, they were doing it half-and-half and he seemed to be tolerating it well.

An update that was posted not too long ago stated Shane was continuing to improve. His mom stated that they continued to turn down the o2 to allow his lungs to do more and it seemed to be working. She added the pneumonia was clearing out and he was healing from the trauma. Once they clear out the pneumonia, they'll be able to do the neck surgery.