Trevor Patton spends most days in a recliner with both feet propped on pillows to keep them raised over his heart.

The 45-year-old Richland man wears a neck collar that prevents him from turning his head.

But two weeks after being critically injured in a head-on crash, Patton's not complaining.

"I'm grateful to be here," he said. "I guess it could have been worse."

Patton and his 13-year-old son, Brandon, were on their way home Dec. 1 from Columbia Center mall in Kennewick when they were struck by a wrong-way driver on Highway 240.

They got onto the highway at the Columbia Center Boulevard exit and went less than a mile before a Cadillac Deville slammed into their Toyota Camry just past the Columbia Park Trail exit.

Patton doesn't remember much about the collision -- something he says probably is a good thing. What he does remember is being in the left lane and seeing a single headlight coming at him.

"I thought it was a motorcycle," he said. "I got over as far as I could (onto the shoulder) and then there was the impact."

The next thing he recalls is two "wonderful people" who ripped open the driver's side door, Patton said.

"It's all kind of blurry and vague," he said. "I was holding my son's hand. They had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out on that side."

Brandon, an eighth-grader at Chief Joseph Middle School in Richland, suffered burns and bruises on his face from the deployed airbag.

He fractured his right wrist and had a torn upper bowel that was repaired in surgery during his weeklong stay at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.

Brandon is expected to be back at school after the winter break, and his family says he's healing fine physically but still is dealing with the psychological effects from the wreck.

"He doesn't like to go in the car," his father said. "He hates the car, but other than that, he's doing well."

Patton's injuries were more extensive and he has a long recovery road ahead.

He has a badly broken left ankle that's in a cast and is expected to take longer than normal to heal, and he's waiting to see if the swelling in his right foot will go down enough so he can have surgery next week.

He needs to have his right foot reconstructed because of the fractured ankle and crushed heel. He can't put any weight on either foot and likely will be off his feet for at least 12 weeks before he can begin physical therapy.

Patton also fractured his left wrist, which required reconstructive surgery during his hospital stay. He still can't feel the fingers on his left hand.

He suffered fractured ribs and a bruised right lung from his seat belt and has a fracture in the sixth vertebra, which is why he has to wear the neck collar for about eight weeks.

Washington State Patrol troopers initially suspected the other driver got going the wrong way on the highway at George Washington Way, but didn't know how or why.

A witness, however, provided some information this past week that has helped investigators fill in some blanks.

The witness said Charles "Kevin" McClammer had been going west on Highway 240 and crashed into the center concrete barrier at some point, said Trooper Chris Thorson.

The force of the impact pushed the barriers out and McClammer got spun around and was facing the wrong way, Thorson said. He then, apparently, just started driving again heading east in the westbound lanes.

McClammer, 56, was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center. The Richland man, who worked in housing construction, died a week later.

He is the father of Chelsea McClammer, according to Spokane's Team St. Luke's coach Teresa Skinner. Chelsea competed for Skinner in wheelchair sports for Team St. Luke's.

She also competed with the U.S. Paralympic team at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and was an alternate on the 2012 London Paralympics team.

Chelsea, a 2012 Richland High graduate, was paralyzed from the waist down in a head-on car wreck when she was 6.

Patton and Brandon each spent a week at Kadlec. They were on separate floors, which meant Margaret, Patton's wife and Brandon's mother, had to make frequent trips between the two rooms and rely on friends, family and members of their church, Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland.

Things got more hectic once they were released. Adjustments had to be made in the house so Patton could get around in the wheelchair, and a wheelchair ramp was rented. Initially, the ramp was too steep for Margaret to be able to push her husband into the house, so a cousin created a second ramp that made the incline more manageable.

Margaret's parents, Tom and Jean Matthews of Kirkland, have been helping out as caregivers, chauffeurs and anything else that's needed. There's a schedule worked out for various family members to visit, so there's always extra hands available.

Margaret, a cosmetologist at Shear Inspiration in Richland, says her customers and other customers at the salon also have been great, leaving donations at the salon and being flexible as she tried to adjust her work schedule around her husband's numerous medical appointments.

"I'm so grateful everyone's OK," she said, acknowledging that keeping busy has helped her keep it together. "I haven't had time to get emotional."

The couple's older son, however, is having a hard time dealing with the injuries to his father and brother, she said. Levi is a junior at Hanford High and he's keeping things to himself and not wanting to go to school, his mother said.

Patton also has multiple sclerosis, but has been symptom-free for about a year. Margaret said she's concerned the stress from the wreck could cause a flare-up, but so far everything's been good.

Once things start to settle down, the next worry for the family will be paying the medical bills.

Patton's a chef, but he was laid off from his last job and the family doesn't have insurance. He had a lead on a new job -- he'd gone through three interviews -- but that's been put on hold as he recovers.

But, the family says right now they're just focusing on the positive, and are grateful for the army of helpers surrounding them and "the love," Patton said.

An account has been set up in Trevor and Margaret Patton's name at HAPO Credit Union. Donations can be made at any branch.