Jerry's story begun on September 29, 2000. The riding lawn mower he was on was stuck from behind by a hit-and-run incident. His brain was bounced around in his head. The hospital notified his family that they did emergency brain surgery to remove some blood clots on his left side and left the bone out because of the swelling. They did not except him to live. He also had clots on the other side. His family and friends rushed to his side and prayed. We created a prayer chain throughout Winston-Salem N.C. and beyond. Of course, we did not hardly recognized him. His head was twice the normal size and his eyes swollen shut, you could not even see his eye lashes. He had a tube outside of his head to drain the fluid and a Trach(then later a feeding tube). The doctors had NO hope. The second night in ICU, Jerry suddenly sat up in his bed. It was unreal. But,he was still in a coma. A week later his ICP shot up to 20. It was like that for two days. We prayed even more. The Doctors said if it remained high for three days, then they were going to have to remove part of his brain. Then another miracle the ICP came down below 10 and the clots disolved on their own. Thank you lord. Jerry remain in ICU for 3 weeks which he slowly opened his eyes and was able to squeeze his left hand, but not on command. Then he caught the Staph infection. Like they say one step forward two steps back. He was transfered out of ICU to a room. He begin to smile, hug and could follow you with his eyes. But nothing on command. He would pull his legs slowly up and down. On November 17, 2000 they did surgery to input a shunt and put his bone back in and remove the trach. He look great. He would give us thumbs up at times. He would mouth "What" and "I Know". Then suddenly his temparture kept going up and he wouldn't stay awake. It was too much surgury at once. It was two days after Thanksgiving when they decided to do a CAT scan. Suddenly they had to do emergency surgery to disconnect the shunt and remove the bone. An infection had developed under the bone and in the shunt, which was causing compression against his brain. He also had a seizure three days later. When Jerry opened his eyes, they would not follow us. His eyes would pull to the left. He does not move as much or stay awake. His mouth and teeth looked awful from non cleaning. He still develops a high temperature every three days. They said to except that. On December 23, 2000, Jerry tried to talk to his cousin. He slowly said his name and "ok" once. But nothing on command. He was transfered to W-S rehab and healthcare on January 5, 2001. Today is January 15, 2001. He has been rushed to the hospital twice for a high temperature. He can not start therapy until his temp will stay down. He has lost 45 lbs. He barely moves as before. Last night, I layed to the left of him, since his eyes still pull, and he smiled when I spoke of his dogs, Sadie and Sampson(black labs). His aunt took Sadie to see him three days ago. Sadie slept at his feet. I am encoraged by your stories and have faith in his healing. I know it will be a long journey. I dated Jerry for 5 years and known him for seven. He helped raised my daughter when her father passed away in 1994. When I look into Jerry's eyes I do not see his disability. I feel a different love for him. Maybe he is still in a semi-coma. I will update you. Please feel free to email me with advice and info.
