On October 5th Sean was climbing a tree. One of the branches did not support his weight and he came crashing down. I don’t know how high he was…..I have heard 15 feet, 20 feet or more. I still haven’t gone to look at the tree.
Sean fell and flopped on the ground. His brother and friends were immediately concerned. Emergency support arrived and were very cautious about moving him. However when his breathing became labored he was whisked into the ambulance and the voices of the medics changed tone.
Hours later we learned that Sean’s brain was swelling and hemorrhaging. He was in ICU on a ventilator and more. Scary for family and friends. For three days he was under sedation to keep his body calm, so he was not expected to wake up. We wanted it to be like the movies where the character wakes up with confusion, scratches his head and starts talking. Not in this case. On the fifth day his eyes started peeking open. But barely. It was an encouraging time!
There is so much more to this story ! It took three long days for Sean to open his eyes. Yet all was so unclear and unknown, especially since he gazed absently with no consistent responses to our voices. He was in ICU for almost a week and later transferred to Drake Hospital for rehabilitation. Day by day, little by little, Sean has made progress. The story at the end of each day gave us hope and optimism – and fodder for family joking ! We will poke fun with Sean for years to come with a few video clips as evidence.
Sean has Traumatic Brain Injury and will take months to recover. Today Sean is walking with supervision, throwing a basketball and more. He has good receptive understanding and is speaking in sentences. Talking seems like great effort, however he says it’s not hard anymore. Critical thinking skills, which include recall, categorizing, and sequencing are developing. Francis (dad) often accompanies him in therapy so we get a first hand stories of Sean’s progress.
Francis and I have recieved guidance from the specialists to help Sean through this transition and recovery. He will continue with therapy at Drake.
Years ago I would fuss when the boys rode bikes and didn’t wear helmets. I used to proclaim that I would bring them to Drake to visit people with brain injuries. My words hardly made a bit of difference. NOW Sean agrees to wear a helmet.
This is a happy progress report to a scary story. Recovery takes time. It will soon be a distant memory, however my awareness and sense of caution has escalated. It is clear that Sean is lucky. We are lucky. And blessed. We look forward to having the old Sean back.