‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond Details Major Injuries to Husband and Nephew After Crash

The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond revealed that her husband Ladd Drummond and their nephew, Caleb Drummond, are doing well after surviving a crash on their ranch on March 10. The two were putting out a wildfire and driving separate fire rigs when their vehicles collided. In an update on their health on Monday, Drummond, 52, wrote that they would both recover from their injuries.

After the accident, Ladd, 52, refused medical assistance because he could walk under his own power and he wanted the paramedics to focus on Caleb, 21, who was seriously injured in the accident. Caleb was taken from the scene in an ambulance, then Ladd drove himself to the hospital. According to Drummond, she did not know about the accident until Ladd told her about it over the phone as he drove himself to the hospital. “He called me on his way and tried to explain what happened, at which time I promptly lost all feeling in my knees before running out the door and heading to town,” Drummond wrote. “I’m putting everyone in my life on notice: I’m about to stop answering the phone around this place.”

The “important part” on Monday is that both Ladd and Caleb will be OK, she wrote. Caleb broke multiple ribs, suffered a “pretty bad concussion” and other injuries that will heal. Ladd broke his neck in two places, and “evidently one of the two fractures was very close to being catastrophic,” Drummond wrote. Ladd was transferred to a hospital in Tulsa to stabilize the fractures. He needed rods and “other hardware” inserted and the “danger is over,” she noted. “He will have to wear a neck brace for several weeks to let the other fracture heal, and the girls and I will bling out the brace for Alex’s wedding…but we are just grateful he will be here for Alex’s wedding,” Drummond continued. The Food Network star went on to thank the medical staff at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa for their work. Drummond also confirmed that Caleb is already back home.

Drummond’s blog post also included shocking photos of the damage Caleb and Ladd’s vehicles took in the crash, which drove home just how lucky the two are that their injuries were not much worse. When explaining why she has told people she is doing well, Drummond said she thought about how differently things could be for their family after the accident. “For both Caleb and Ladd to be okay—injured, yes, but fixable—after seeing the condition of their trucks makes me not want to spend one second complaining,” she wrote. “I can’t even be mad at Ladd for driving himself to the hospital with a broken neck. I’m just so glad I’m home with him.”

In the end, Drummond wrote that she is not going to focus on wishing the accident never happened. Instead, she is “gonna live in a state of gratitude—not just for the guys being okay, but also for the love, kindness, and prayers of so many of you,” she wrote. “Thank you all so very much for reaching out to our family and for keeping us in your hearts through the past several days. I can’t tell you how much it means to all of us, and I’ll never, ever forget it!”