dr. hartzell four times a week. "he has a great attitude. he knows it's a process. a lot of people give up and aren't willing to put in the time or effort. you can imagine two years of your life in therapy and multiple operations. it's a big commitment but benjamin sees the big picture and wants to get as good as possible." at thursday's press conference, benjamin h h a great outlook onon the progress he was making in recovery. "lately i have had a little bit of feeling back and tingling without each finger. it's getting better and i can tell it will get better along the way." for benjamin, tuesday marked the three month mark since the surgery. he has taken the rehab seriously and hasn't missese a sing appointment. though he may have hundreds stitches in his hand, he hasn't let th limit his life - he even got the ok to go snowboarding from dr. hartzell. >> a tribute to those who have died fighting for our freedom is on splay in wakefield, , braska. the exhibit "remebering our fallen" will be at the little red hen theatre during wakefield's balloon days videos that's

dr. hartzell. three hours after whitkowski lost his hand, doctors s faith regional phphician center in nonolk were workininto save it. drdrhartzell says ick work by emergency responders helped make that happen. "it's why i love nebraska, it's just people move there's no...people are efficient. they know that somebody is in need and there's no hesitation. it's just everybody activates and that's as quick as it gets from scene to surgery," said dr. hartzell. n's mother says she immediatley knew how serious the situation was... a employee at faith regional.... she never had doubts about where her son needed to be treated. "i knew dr. hartzell was wonderful and i knew that we had him right here and they were going to fly him to omaha. a lot of times faith regional gets alot of patients from omaha for dr. hartzell, so i asked them 'can you please fly him here? straight here,'" said hoffman. the surgery lasted 12 hours...ben still needs up to five more surgeries beginnning of 2016. says the recoveryryroc

dr. hartzell said that the surgery went perfectly. they were able to save his hand because it was well preserved. "a testament to how good the first responders were was that for him, we didn't have to transfuse him a single unit of blood during his entire hospital stay. that's a good indication of who first took care of him at the scene at grand island to the helicopter and then to here did a good job of minimizing blood loose." while his hand may be reattached, benjamin still has about two more years of therapy to go. he doesn't have the sensation back in his fingers or the muscles needed to move his fingers. the next few months he will have to keep his joints subtle and loose as possible. he currently sees dr. hartzell four times a week. "he has a great attitude. he knows it's a process. a lot of people give up and aren't willing to put in the time or effort. you can imagine two years of your life in therapy and multiple operations. it's a big commitment but benjamin sees the big picture and wants to get as good as possible." at thu

dr. hartzell. three hours after whitkowski lost his hand, doctors at faith regional physician center in n norolk were working to save it. dr. hartzell says quick work by responders helped "it's why i love nebraska, it's just people move there's efficient. they know that somebody is in hesitation. it's just and that's as quick as it gets from scene to surgery," ben's mothth says how serious the situation was... a employee at faith never had doubts needed to be treated. "i knew dr. hartzell was wonderful and i knew that we had him right here and they were going to fly him to omaha. a lot of times faith regional gets alot of patients from omaha for dr. hartzellllso i asked them 'can you please fly him here? straight here,'" said hoffman. the surgery lasted 12 hours...ben still needs up to five more surgeries beginnning of 2016. he says the recovery process is slow, but is accepting it. small steps mean alot. "lately i've had a little bit of feeling back and tingling through out each nger so it's getti

dr. hartzell said that the surgery went perfectly. they were able to save his hand because it was well preserved. "a testament to how good the first responders were was that for him, we didn't have to transfuse him his entire hospital stay. that's a good indication of who first took care of him at the scene at grand island to the helicopter and then to here did a good job of minimizing blood lose." while his hand may be reattached, benjamin still has about two more years of therapy to go. he doesn't have the sensation back in his fingers. the next few months he will have to keep his joints subtle and loose as possible. he currently sees dr. hartzell four times a week. "he has a great attitude. he knows it's a process. a lot of people give up and aren't willing to put in the time or effort. you can imagine two years of your life in therapy and multiple operations. it's a big commitment but benjamin sees the big picture and wants to get as good as possible." at thursday's press conference, benjamin had a great outlook on the progress he

dr. tristan hartzell of faith regional, ben witkowski's hand is back where it belongs. our jaclyn driscoll met up with the images are graphic. "i think i freaked out the first 10, 15 seconds when i saw it in the water." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> but thanks to dr. tristan hartzell, his 10-member medical team, and first responders... ben's hand was saved. "his first responders took care of it perfectly. they controlled his blood loss. we didn't have to transfuse at all for this major trauma." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> teresa hoffman, ben's mother and faith regional anesthesiologist, prepped her son for surgery. "it was s d that it was his hand, it was really, really bad. but then i just kept thinking, it was just his hand." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> after a 12-hour procedure on july 13th, ben's hand was reattached. but this is only the beginning for ben. tristan hartzell doctor>> "keeping it alive is just the first 10 percent. the years that follow is 90 percent of the outcome." jaclynynriscoll reporting>> > willllave 2 to 5 more fututu surgeries, and will have to s

dr. tristan hartzell performed the surgery at faith regional health services. the doctor says it went perfectly. while his hand may be reattached, benjamin still has about two more years of therapy to go. tonight at ten, we'll bring you more on the successful surgery. renovations to a piece of sioux city sports history have finally reached the nish line. ththtrack at sioux city's memorial field was in such bad shape, i iwas condemned last spring. six months later, bishop heflan's newly resurfaced track just needs the lanes painted, and will be ready for the upcoming track season. with the newly renovated facility only a few blocks from the school, getting to practice will be much more convenient for heelan track athletes. "it's going to be big from a standpoint of last year, our kids weren't able to practice at our field," said bishop heelan athletic director, jason platt. "we had to drive to either east high or morningside or any off-site. so for us to just be able to walk or drive two or three blocks from school, come right after school anan practice on our w

dr. tristan hartzell, his 10-member medical team, and first responders... ben's hand was saved. "his first responders took care of it perfectly. they controlled his blood loss. we didn't have to transfuse at all for this major trauma." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> teresa hoffman, ben's mother and prepped her son for surgery. "it was bad that it was his hand, it was really, really bad. but then i just kept thinking, it was jushis hand." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> after a 12-hour procedure on july 13th, ben's hand was reattached. but this is only the beginning for ben. tristan hartzell doctor>> "keeping it alive is just the first 10 percent. the years that follow is 90 percent of the outcome." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> he will have 2 to 5 more future surgeries, and will l ve to stay current on physisil therapy. ben witkowski hand>> "it's an hour each day. we started off five days a week and now we're down to four. it's been a long haul, but i think it was three months yesterday and it's flown by already for me." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> while he will never regain full functio

dr. tristan hartzell, his 10-member medical team, and first responders... ben's hand was s ved. "his first responders took care of it perfectly. they controlled his blood loss. we didn't have to transfuse at all for this major trauma." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> teresa hoffman, ben's mother and faith regional anesthesiologist, prepped her son for surgery. "it was bad that it was his hand, it was really, really bad. but then i just kept thinking, it was just his hand." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> after a 12-hour procedure on july 13th, ben's hand was reattached. but this is only the beginning for ben. tristan hartzell doctor>> "keeping it alive is just the first 1010ercent. the years that follll is 90 percent of the outcome." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> he will have 2 to 5 more future surgeries, and will have to stay current on physical therapy. ben witkowski hand>> "it's an hour each day. we started off five days a week and now we're down to four. it's been a long haul, bui think it was three months yesterday and it's flowow bybylready for me." jaclyn driscoll reporting>> while