West Coast Trail hiker who lost eye on hike now fighting brain infection

The rugged West Coast Trail was a bucket-list hike that the father-son duo Ed and Bret Steinkamp had been planning for some time.

This year the pair got their wish, hiking the iconic path and discovering its challenges.

"It’s a gorgeous trail," said Bret."Mud that if you step in it you go up to your mid-calves."

On day three of the hike, to avoid an extra muddy section of the trail, Bret’s father decided to walk along the trunk of a fallen tree. That’s when he lost his footing, falling on a branch, sending it through his eye socket and lodging into this brain.

“It broke off in the fall and he stood back up right after,” said Bret. “He stood right back up and looked at us.”

Then Ed passed out.

A minute later he woke up with the roughly 14-inch stick poking out of his face.

Fortunately, it was then that some hikers came across the pair. They raced ahead and managed to find cell service where they called emergency services.

Hours later, rescuers arrived. Ed was lifted out of the trail and flown to Victoria General Hospital.

“They rushed him into operation and got the stick out,” said Bret.

With the stick now out, Ed has lost sight in his left eye but now faces more serious issues. It’s unclear if he will suffer lasting brain damage and his brain has a serious infection.

“There’s a potential that there’s still a small splinter or something back there that’s probably making it so the antibiotics aren’t working as well,” said Bret. “It’s just a good source to start the infection.”

Bret says his father is in stable condition and because of that, doctors don’t want to risk brain surgery.

“We decided to start a GoFundMe,” said Sue Lowe, a family friend and the organizer of the fundraiser.

Ed’s wife and Bret’s mother has now flown out from Texas to be with the family and the bills are adding up.

“The airfare, the car rental, everyone knows what gas is now, none of that will be covered,” said Lowe.

Because of Ed’s injury, he will not be able to fly home but instead the family will drive back to Dallas.

A full recovery will take months, if not years. But once it’s all over, Ed and Bret want to come back and finish the hike they started.

“The goal is to recover, get used to having only one eye, and then go back and do it again,” said the determined son.