Adam was at Our Lady of the Lake hospital from May 18,
2010 until July 8, 2010. Our stay at OLOL was an intense emotional roller-coaster. Adam was on life support and in a coma. The first two weeks
showed signs of hope. Exactly two weeks after the accident a CT was performed
and we were told any parents worse nightmare. The CT showed Adam suffered a
stroke and that the majority of his brain was damaged. We were advised to take
Adam off of life support. The doctors explained to us that what we saw was what
we would take home. Adam would never breathe on his own or open his eyes.
Literally people from all over the country began praying for Adam’s healing. As
a family we chose not to take Adam off of life support. We knew God was holding
Adam and he had the ultimate say in Adam’s life. One week later another CT was
performed. The doctors then did not believe Adam suffered a stroke and the
damage to his brain was not as bad as the previous CT showed. Still the doctor’s
opinion did not change. Adam would not have a viable life. My thoughts on this
were, “what do you consider viable?” I knew with all my heart Adam would
recover and God would use our tragedy for his glory. Our faith and trust was in
him alone. On July 8, 2010, Adam was transferred from OLOL to TIRR in Houston, Texas for
rehabilitation. We learned a great deal of useful information while at TIRR.
There’s so much about the brain we don’t understand and never will. We had a
doctor at TIRR tell us, “If there’s one thing we do know about the brain, it’s
that we don’t know enough.” Being at TIRR brought us so much hope for Adam’s
future. We knew God was leading the way and he led us straight to TIRR.On October 28, 2010, Adam came home from TIRR and so our journey of hope, faith, and love began to grow much more.
As I rode to Our Lady of the Lake hospital that dreadful day in May I turned Adam over to God. I knew he would hold him no matter what the outcome was. The only peace I had during those long emotionally draining days was that Adam was a Christian and I knew he would be with Jesus. I knew I could not keep him hooked to life support for my own selfish reasons. God has blessed us in so many ways throughout this journey and we will forever praise his name. I knew there was a reason we were struggling and going through this tragedy. However, I do not know the specific reason. I do know many people have come to know Christ through Adam’s story. I feel it is important for us to use our journey to show the love of Christ, to show people there is hope for traumatic brain injuries, and to raise awareness about seat belt safety. Adam was not wearing his seat belt.
(Above) Adam with best friend Shelby Bates
I have pondered over and over the approach I would like to take when it comes
to seat belt awareness. I document Adam’s recovery and our journey on Facebook and
Caringbridge. I’ve never shared what it’s like to care for my child who is
completely dependent on others for his needs. I am going to take this
opportunity to open up about what it’s really like. I think this approach is
more realistic and can help others look at the reality of not wearing a
seat belt. The reality is that it’s heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. By the
grace of God we have the strength we need to push forward every day and we are
grateful for where we are today with Adam’s recovery, but it’s still hard. I
often feel people look at Adam and see Adam. I’m not quite sure some realize
the day to day task we endure. I think it’s important to share these things in
order to get people, especially teens, to understand the reality of not wearing
a seat belt. Throughout the past two and a half years Adam has undergone a craniotomy, a major brain surgery, he has a VP shunt
in his brain, had a tracheostomy, has a feeding tube and baclofen pump, had
scar tissue removal surgery from his throat because of the tracheostomy, had a foot surgery to lengthen his tendon
because of foot drop, has been hospitalized with pneumonia, a blood infection,
hyperthermia, numerous urinary tract infections and kidney stones and a major
seizure. Not to mention he was in a coma for almost a year. For over a year we
had no idea if Adam could hear or how well he could see. It took Adam over two
years to simply be able to smile and stick out his tongue. Caring for a TBI
patient is not easy and requires a great deal of attention. Adam’s arms, legs,
feet, and hands have to be worked throughout the day so that he doesn’t draw
up. The brain injury creates tone in his body. The tone causes the muscles to
shorten, which is why he had the foot surgery. However, without using braces
and proper movement his foot can return to the downward position.
(Above) Central Private has hosted an annual fundraiser for Adam and has been there since the accident.
Muscle contractures are horrible for TBI patients. We
also have to pay close attention to Adam’s skin from head to toe. Any pressure
on his body can leave him with a pressure point. The pressure points could turn
into sores, which is an avenue for infection. When he first got his braces for
his feet he had pressure sores. Every day I fought to keep them clean and
covered to rid any type of infection. The stress of the possibility of
infection is horrible. Adam is completely dependent on us for everything.
Imagine being completely aware of your surroundings and having cognitive
abilities, but unable to move or respond. Adam is basically trapped inside his
own body. Imagine being a teenager and having your mom clean your ears, wipe
your face, shower you, brush your teeth, brush your hair, or change your pull
up because you can’t use the bathroom on your own. Imagine knowing you are wet
and becoming so frustrated that you work yourself up to 105 degree fever
because your brain doesn’t regulate your body temperature, which can lead to
life threatening consequences. Adam knows all of these things go on yet he
can’t respond the way he wants. His way of responding is through agitation. His
brain doesn’t regulate his body temperature so his fever goes sky high along
with a severely dangerous heart rate. This behavior is dangerous as it can cause Adam to seize.
(Above) Adam, on the far right, during his freshman year at Central Private.
Imagine going to therapy day after day and struggling to recover. The pain is
excruciating as we can tell because Adam yells a lot. Imagine knowing you want
to move a finger but you can’t because your motor skills don’t function
properly. Imagine wanting so badly to say something, but you don’t because you
can’t or because you are afraid of how you will sound. Imagine losing complete
control of every part of your body yet your mind is aware. This is our Adam
because our Adam was not wearing a seat belt. Adam isn’t this way because he
sustained numerous injuries. Adam had no other injuries to his body. He did not
have one fracture or break anywhere. Adam hit the windshield and the force
caused his brain to shift. The shifting of his brain from midline caused his
brain to swell which in turn damaged his brain. There was no fractured or
broken skull, nothing. We are thankful for what God is doing in our lives. We continue to give Him all the glory through the good and bad. I believe Adam will walk and talk one day. I know it’s all in God’s time. We must patiently wait on him. In the meantime we will continue our days of helping and playing our role in Adam’s journey.
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Haylie Dufour
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I visited with Adam and his mother Haylie for over two hours. I learned that the Central Private family has been there throughout even though Adam was finishing just his first year at the school and I quickly learned just how strong and determined one has to be to perform the daily tasks necessary. Haylie is a special mother who has hope and faith in that Adam will one day be his old self again but also has a message that through Adam teens will learn to put their priorities in order before they suffer unthinkable life changing injuries that could have been prevented due to an accident.
So I ask, what will it take?
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Darron Thomas
Southern Sports & Travel
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Darron Thomas
Southern Sports & Travel
