The Long Road Ahead

There was no waking up early for graduation. There was only still silence in the Trauma ICU. Jessica did not walk across the stage at the Palm Beach County Convention Center along with her graduating class. Instead she lay motionless in her hospital bed connected to tubes and surrounded by machines with blinking lights that monitored her vital signs and body functions. The road for Jessica has just begun, unfortunately is not the one that most eighteen year olds that just graduated from high school travel all that often. Hers will be marked by small day to day improvements on her road to recovery. It will be filled with new terms like Glasgo Coma Scale, Ranchos Los Amigos Scale and TBI.  The challenges she will face are what so many of us take for granted such as moving around, going to the bathroom, eating, walking, talking, and most of all, thinking. She will now need to share her life with Physical therapists, Occupational Therapists, Neuropsychologists, and a wide assortment of doctors and nurses. She will have to overcome a lot but everyone that knows her has faith and confidence that she will be successful if she gets the right treatment.

    There are powerful stories of individuals that faced the same obstacles who were able to overcome and get back a quality of life that most of us enjoy every day. Being able to ride a bike on a beautiful south Florida morning, go swimming on a hot summer day or just going to the grocery store. These were all goals attained again by people that were cared for by a team of professionals dedicated to the care of individuals that suffered severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

That’s were the second fight comes into play. The big “if” that boils down to what the good ole’ insurance industry says they will cover. Like the movie “Sicko” by Michael Moore, that shows how crucial care ends up taking a back seat in the name of big profits, Jessica will also face being a number on a claims form.  We have already been informed that much of the rehabilitative care she will need comes with a pretty steep price tag. As luck would have it, the insurance Jessica has will not cover most of the care needed. That is where her big challenge lays and where you can make a difference. Family, friends, neighbors and complete strangers that are willing to help with a small donation that can go a long way in helping Jessica get the rehabilitative care she needs. Help her to get back on that bicycle, help her get back on track so she can go to college earn a degree and lead a productive life. Help her regain the quality of life she has lost and will have to fight to regain. I guarantee she will rise to the challenge, however she will need all of our help to do so.

There has been a fund setup at Bank of America that you can send your donation to - even easier yet - use the pay pal account set up on this web site if you desire to help. We cannot thank everyone enough for their support and prayers in what is a very difficult time.