Shane, 12, was an avid bike rider,but his tire had been flat for a month. He had finally talked his Uncle into fixing it--gone to his house a block & 1/2 from home--and gotten it fixed. He and his friend jumped on to race home to show Grampa his tire was fixed. He yelled back "I love you" as he rode down the street, his sister,11, running after him. He saw the Van but it was far enough away, he could make it. He rounded the corner--his sister screamed--the van hit his back tire--whipped him around under the front of the van with the bike under him--he held onto the bottom of the van for 89 feet and lost conciousness. His head had bounced on the pavement for 89 ft. without the driver realizing he was there. When the Van stopped,it threw him out from under the van to the side of the street, a crumpled mass. A nurse in the car behind the Van stopped and did CPR. The ambulance rushed him to the ER at Wishard Hosp. in Indpls. 20 miles away. CPR was preformed on the way and again after he arrived. After he was stabilized, he was sent to Riley Hosp. for Children. He was put into a deep coma to prevent as much damage as they could. This lasted for 33 days before he could finally be revived. According to the CAT Scan, his skull looked like a bag of potato chips. There were 17 fractures with damage to 8 of the 10 lobes of the brain. His Doctors said they had never seen so much damage on a child who survived. When he awakened, he couldn't see--or communicate--but boy could he move. He had to be restrained to keep him in the bed. Over the next week, his sight returned--he could speak in 1 cylible words--but his eradict movements remained. He was transferred to Methodist Hosp. TBI rehab. center for intensive rehabilitation. By now he weighes 79 lbs is 5 ft. tall and 12 years old. He had weighed 115 when he was hit. In rehab. he learned to walk with a walker and a gait belt. He learned to talk but didn't always understand--the nurse would read him the next days menu and the only things he recognized were hamburger, french fries and pudding. It took a week of this menu before we realized that was all he recognized. He was getting pretty tired of hamburger by then. By the end of the second month they saw he was beginning to go backward. Since I am a nurse(his Grandmother) they allowed him to come home with us after a few trial visits. Within a week, he was walking on his own, feeding himself, and crawling up the stairs to his upstairs bedroom. It took longer to get him so he could dress himself, tie his shoes, shower standing up, Etc. Mostly these were things which required balance. He goes to school 2 hrs a day--Is taking swimming lessons (he forgot how to swim)--goes to friends homes to play (with his younger sister along to supevise). There are things that are still missing. His short term memory is nonexistant--he has NO fear of anything, thinking he is invincable, which his Dr. says is normal with TBI. He can now use the computer, and would love to hear from other teens who are TBI's. In fact he would like to hear from anyone. His teachers say he is at the level of 8 or 9 years old right now. We're doing everything possible to advance him as fast as he can advance, but it is a slow and tedious process. His worst problem is the temper tantrums brought on by the fact that he doesn't understand why he can't do everything his sister and friends can. He thinks nothing is wrong, now. Please write and let him know he is not alone.
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Sincerely Shane's Gramma
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