A medical, legal, and
informational resource
for persons dealing with
traumatic brain injury.

STORIES OF AMAZING RECOVERIES

Submitted By: Alicia Camp
Telephone: 864-839-9345
email: ac6057@aol.com

My son, Kelton (but everyone calls him "Peabo"), suffered a severe TBI, as a result of a car accident in July, 1997, at the age of 20. He was in a coma from July 7, '97 until Dec. 10, '97.

When he "woke up" he was transferred (despite the medical team's prognosis of "poor") to a facility that specializes in rehab for stroke and brain injury patients. Upon departure from the hospital to the rehab facility, he arrived with a "feeding tube", a trach (had been on the ventilator), and was not speaking words at all. He also had "diapers" while in the coma. When he left the rehab facility to come home, he was talking, walking, going to the BR, the feeding tube was gone, and he was eating "regular" food, and the "trach" was healing. (beginning to close up).

While I am very thankful for all of the progress that he made there, I do not mean to imply that in the years, since '97, life has been a bed of roses. It has been exhausting, and at times, a nightmare, but I have to say that despite everything, I am forever grateful to God, and to his medical staff for bringing him thus far, when on the night of his accident, and for 3 nights afterward, (consecutively), I was told by his doctors that I should begin making funeral arrangements.

Today, we simply take it one day at a time, because there is no other way to do it. There are good days, and bad days, but he is here. He survived, and for that I am thankful.