HUTCHINSON, Kan.— On Saturday morning, May 24, 2014, Lacey Deardoff, the middle child of Jerri and John 
Deardoff, Hutchinson’s City Manager, was critically injured in a tragic accident on her way to work. Since that time, Lacey’s parents and her sisters, Taylor and Lindsay, have been by her side at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. On Friday Deardoff issued this statement.
To the residents of the City of Hutchinson and all who have supported the Deardoff’s since the accident
occurred, the family releases the following statement: Our lives changed three weeks ago in the moment we received a phone call that our daughter was in a serious car accident. As we rushed to Kansas City to be with her, an excellent team of physicians, nurses, and support staff at Overland Park Regional Medical Center were using their talents to save Lacey’s life.
Today we’re pleased to share that Lacey’s recovery is progressing, a testament to her strong spirit and will to live. While she continues to receive treatment in the intensive care unit of the hospital, we’re anticipating her transfer to the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska within the next couple of weeks. At Madonna, Lacey will work on regaining her strength and mobility as she suffered body and head trauma in the accident. We recognize her recovery will be more a marathon than a sprint. To this end, John will return to his work as city manager soon with plans to commute to Lincoln for long weekends with his daughter and wife.
This has been an unexpected and heart-wrenching journey for our family, but we’ve been lifted by then umerous prayers, calls, cards, and offers of help extended by so many. There aren’t words strong enough to express our gratitude, so we offer a simple thank you and a promise to pay forward your kindness someday. A special fund was set up by Fee Insurance at the 1st National Bank, to help offset unexpected expenses during Deardoff’s recovery