My LiFE

  I was 14 years old riding my bike to my middle school when I was HIT by a F-150 pick up truck. I flew 30 feet across the road, and landed head first onto the pavement, fracturing my skull. I started having convulsions then after I wasn't breathing and my heart stopped till the ambulance came. Before the ambulance arrived, people in the homes near were I was laying came out to see what all the commotion was about. When people were outside, a person in all black started walking to me. No one could see who this was or how they got there. When the figure was near me they put their hand over my chest for awhile then walked away into a crowd and vanished. Once the Fire truck arrived, they started resuscitating me. After a few minutes of working on me they realized they did not have all the equipment, so they called for another ambulance to come with the rest of the equipment. When the ambulance arrived,the first thing they did was take off my shirt and cut my left side open to inflate my lung (On the street). Next they took me to a hospital where I was treated for my injuries! A short time after starting to treat me they told my parents they were going to stop treating me because my injuries were SOO severe they did not have all the equipment needed to treat me. My parents were told THEY COULD NOT SEE ME or ride in the ambulance with me to go to another hospital.

  When I arrived at the 2nd hospital, they started hooking me up with IV's and breathing equipment. The doctors told my parents I had no chance of survival without surgery and 20% chance with surgery!! At midnight I was taken in to have emergency surgery to remove some bruised brain matter. Every hour my parents got updates about me and my condition and I was told the updates got progressively worse every hour!!  I was then induced into a  coma for 31 days.

  While I was in the coma my body was soo HOT that I layed on a cold bed, like a sheet of ice, to keep my body temperature normal! I had a feeding tube, a tube to go to the bathroom, 12 IV's, and 3 tubes in my head to relieve some of the pressure in my brain!!! My parents were told that I sustained a traumatic brain injury. While I was in a coma every Friday the doctors would meet and discuss whether they should pull the plug or not and keep treating me? Luckily they decided every Friday to keep treating me because of my age (14) and I was very fit and muscular from all the sports and travel soccer team I was on.

                 Some weird instances that happened to me while I was in a coma
  Several weeks in, a lady my parents had never meet came to see us in the hospital. My parents had not a clue who she was. The lady laid a picture of Jesus on my chest and told my parents that there was a prayer chain for me that extended all the way into Canada!! Another wierd instance that happened was when my mom was planning to visit me,and that night she had a dream that a woman named Lisa had a message for her about me. The next morning my mom remembered the dream and said "a Lisa??", "I don't know a Lisa". My mom was upset from the dream and wanted to call off work. When my mom called in to work, a Lisa answered the phone. My mom recalled the dream and asked "You had a message for me about my son?" Lisa responded "yes I did I was afraid to tell you, I didn't want to get you upset, but I had a dream that your son was running around saying mom don't worry I'm going to be ok don't worry, I'm going to be ok."

                    Some problems while in a coma
  One problem I encountered was that a needle/shot was placed near my bed with someone elses name on it. My parents saw this and brought it up to the nurses to make sure I did not get someone elses shot!! KINDA SCARY!! If you think that's scary here's another problem that occurred!! Every day an x-ray tech would do an x-ray on my head to make sure the pressure in my brain was ok. One evening when my parents had left the hospital, the x-ray tech did a scan of my head. When he finished, he removed the metal plate behind my head knocking all 3 of the tubes out of my head. Later that night a nurse came to give me shots and realized my bed was all wet. She got the doctors and they then just monitored me, thinking that my brain may be ok, and able to get rid of the fluid my body produces daily without the tubes. A few hours later they realized that the pressure in my brain was at dangerous levels!! They rushed me back to have surgery to put a internal tube (Shunt, this is a internal tube to relieve fluid pressure from my brain) in my head instead of the external tubes they had. Before they did the operation they realized that with all the pressure in my head , my brain expanded into my spinal cord!! Most often when this happens it is fatal to those with head injuries! Luckily for me it did not take my life BUT it did paralyze the right side of my face and my vocal cord!

  After 31 days in a coma and a month in ICU I spent 2 more months in therapy. The memories from the period of time are very vague. I remember seeing my family and friends everyday. My mother decorated my room often to offer me sense of comfort. My church family offered alot of support. They would come often to visit me and read to me. While I was in a coma my parents were with me day and night. My dad would even spend nights with me in the hospital. After intense repetitious therapy and support from a friend who attended most of my therapy sessions, I was on my way to recovery.

  One major inspiration in my recovery was a video that I made with my friends prior to the accident. When I watched the video at the time I could not speak, walk, eat, or move except for my left arm. I watched that video over and over again until I finally realized who was in the video. It was me. I became very emotional. I wheeled myself out of the room. My parents came running after me.They told me, " You will be okay Will". With intense anger and frustration I gathered every emotion in me and replied "NO I WON'T". My parents eyes got big and they turned to each other shockingly and ran out the room to the doctors and told them that I could talk. Once I was able to communicate I made an even more rapid recovery with the help speech therapist. Once I gained a reasonable amount of strength, balance, and comprehension skills I was granted permission to go back to school. The problem was that they did not know what grade to place me in. Originally I was in 7th grade, but they placed me back in 3rd being unsure of my learning capabilities. With hard work determination I was able to show the school board not only was I capable of learning but I could retain and use the knowledge given to me. The following year they placed me in 8th grade where I belonged. From that point on I kept up with my class and even graduated with a 3.6 G.P.A. from high school. Shortly after, I registered for college courses to major in Business. I continued going to therapies over the years and my parents remained supportive. Most of all my parents were determined to make sure that I was able to survive on my own. They began seeking places that promoted independence.

   Eventually my parents found a  place. I moved into a Special Tree group home about 4-5 months ago. There were pros and cons with living in a group home. The cons were I had to get adjusted to living with people. On a positive note I had my own personal space , a jacuzzi, a pool table, and flat screen tv's. I even had an opportunity to expand my great cooking skills! I had helpful staff that made sure I was physically and emotionally safe and were always available anytime I may have needed something.   The staff were absolutely wonderful which made it a very enjoyable experience to be at the group home. There were clients that were enjoyable to be around. I loved watching the Tigers games with some of my peers and having conversations with them. I also liked having sit down dinners where everyone would talk about their day and things they had going on! 

                                                                Time to move on!!
  During the 4-5 months at the Special Tree group home, I met all my goals and found out some exciting news. I found out I will be moving into a Special Tree apartment! This is VERY exciting giving me some new experiences and opportunities. Some things I am really looking forward to are having friends, parents over, making Green Tea all the time!!, and being in a peaceful and enjoyable environment where I'm in control of noise and whats going on. I love to cook for my parents, and having the new apartment will give me more freedom to do so!! I'm ready to take on more responsibility and be more independent!


  One of my new found passions is public speaking. I now give speeches about my story to help other people. I gave a speech to one class in high school and it then evolved to giving speeches to many classes through out the day. This is another example of how far my recovery has come! I have made such a huge recovery with all the support I have received through the years. My friends and family were always there to support and motivate me and this is why I STRONGLY feel I am were I am today!!