This was Joseph Jaskolka, Honor student, J.V. Football Quarterback, Karate Black Belt and all-around popular kid until a bullet came out of the sky and struck him on the top of his head early New Years Day 1999 in Philadelphia PA.

Joe's cousin, 12 at the time, who was along side Joe when he suddenly collapsed to the sidewalk, ran to the house they both had been visiting for the family annual New Years Eve celebration to get help. Joe laid on the ground for about 10 minutes before the Police arrived on the scene after numerous 911 calls placed by neighbors.

The delay being attributed to the dispatcher's being overwhelmed by gunshot calls city-wide. Revelers apparently celebrate by shooting guns in the air at the stroke of midnight in some absurd tradition in Philadelphia. An alert police sergeant, seeing a need for haste, snatched Joe up by his coat and placed him in the back of a police van because the EMT's were nowhere to be found, There were that many calls. Joe's dad and I also got into the police van and it careened through the streets to Jefferson hospital. By then Joe's body had started to slowly shut down.

The Police spokesman said that in the course of their investigation, which was being done by the homicide division (they already considered it a homicide) that over 700 spent shell casings of various calibers had been retrieved within a five block radius of the incident that it was literally raining bullets that night. The doctors at Jefferson Hospital concluded that they could not handle the situation, so they placed Joe in a helicopter which transported him to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia(CHOP). The police transported us in the same van to CHOP where we were greeted by doctors who told us that Joe was severely critical and not to get our hopes up. They did not expect him to survive the first hour. The bullet entered his skull on the left rear side, passed through the parietal lobe of the brain stopping against the brain stem at the base of the skull. Fortunately, the bullet followed a straight path and did not fragment. Doctors were very concerned that there would be swelling in the brain so they drilled a hole in his skull and inserted what they call a Ventriculostomy which drained the excess cranial fluid from Joe's skull, which most likely saved his life. They also informed us that they expected a massive blood clotting, which they said would kill him if it occurred. Fortunately none formed. They told us he was completely paralyzed, and didn't allow us to see him until about 5:00 am. At this point he was in the intensive care unit attached to numerous monitors and a ventilator. Joe was in a coma for 11 days but I believed for at least part of this time he could not open his eyes, although there were times when I could tell he was awake or asleep. The doctors felt that we were being too optimistic, because when they came and did their neurological tests they weren't getting any response. 2 weeks before accident However, nurses started to observe while they were suctioning the mucus from his lungs, that he was in fact breathing on his own which stopped them from performing a tracheostomy, which they were insisting he needed to breathe.

Joe finally opened his eyes on the 11th of January although he could not blink them or track with both eyes, he was communicating with us by closing his eyes for no. We had to reduce all communication to yes and no answers.

The doctors however were disbelieving that he was cognitive enough to communicate at all. He was unable to move anything voluntarily except his eyelids. He was extubated(removed from the life support-ventilator) on January 18th and a ventricular shunt was inserted in place of the vetriculostomy. Joe's neurosurgeon told us that they would be unable to remove the bullet because it was in a position where any disturbing of the healthy tissue around it would cause more damage, and most likely kill him. Where the bullet lies against the brain stem which controls the breathing reflex might get damaged therefore disabling the breathing and heartbeat functions. They also believed that he would not be able read, speak or even understand language due to the location of the damage the bullet did. They also told us that he would be paralyzed, unable to eat or drink because it also controlled the gag and swallow reflexes. However, we were there with him constantly and they only saw him periodically, so we observed him moving in his sleep and he blurted out "Mom" in the presence of a nurse who informed the doctors. Then they started to believe us. He was downgraded from critical to stable condition around January 20th. On January 26th he was transferred to A.I. DuPont Institute for Children (AIDI) in Wilmington DE which is where we live, and decided to have his rehabilation done.

Joe remained an in-patient at AIDI until April 22, 1999 during which time he received daily therapies (Occupational, Physical, Cognitive-Speech, Aquatic and School) 5 days a week. Joe was placed on several medications three of which were stimulants and also a motion sickness inhibitor. He also was tube-fed from his fourth day at CHOP.

A PEG feeding tube was inserted into Joe's stomach at AIDI. Joe started eating and drinking on March 30th after his doctors determined that he was not in any danger of aspirating fluids into his lungs. His Ophthalmologist determined that Joe had 4th and 6th nerve palsy which was causing double- vision and other optical problems. Meanwhile, Joe was able to do school work and even got a 100% on a science test on vertebrates in the beginning of February. No short or long term memory problems there. After Joe was taken off all the stimulants that were prescribe to him, he stopped having occasional memory loss, and was even able to tell us when he had to use the toilet.

He had been receiving Ritalin which was causing memory loss, Bromocryptine, which caused him to not be able to tell when he needed to urinate, Amantadine, to keep him awake which caused vomiting, and Metaclopramide (the motion inhibitor), which caused him to have seizures when he was laid with his head at less than a 45 degree angle. Joe was removed from these medications when they determined that he had no cognitive problems, as they were creating symptoms they were prescribed to relieve. Due to the fact that Joe has a left-side brain injury, resulting in right-side motor problems, leaving him with minimal use of his right arm and leg. Joe has been an out-patient since April 22, 1999 and continues to receive therapy both at the hospital, and also at his school. When Joe was discharged from AIDI he could not walk, barely stand and pivot for car transfers and could not speak at that time. Joe started speaking on May 18th, first with a few words , and he has been speaking non-stop since. Joe had, and still has a great sense of humor, which has served him well through this ordeal.

He returned in September 99 to his original school (Holy Rosary), but because it is a Parochial school, the State of Delaware would not provide any assistance to Joe in his school setting. We then had him transferred to Springer Middle School, which is in our local school district, where he is provided with a personal aide, special Education Teacher and therapists in a private classroom setting. Joe continues to do well in his classes and has not lost any ground in his education despite missing 6 months of 6th grade. He was promoted to 7th grade and is working at the 9th grade level in many subjects. However, he misses his old school and friends. We are being told by his teachers that he could very well be back at his old school at the beginning of the next school year if he keeps his nose to the grindstone, providing his physical condition improves to the point that he needs little or no assistance in walking. He is able to walk short distances now with minimal assistance with a quad-cane, and greater distances with a walker. He hopes to some day be able to play sports again and his neurosurgeon says that he would be able to play anything short of boxing.

Our message is: never give up hope, always trust your instincts-they are usually right. Also, prayers never hurt either. Never underestimate the power of the human spirit. Joe's been published in several newspapers in our area and they can be located at. www.newslibrary.com Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News archives dates 01-99, 12-99 and 01-00 along with an article on the front page of the Wilmington News Journal October 17, 1999 called "Defying the Odds" by Martin Frank.

We hope Joe's story will give hope to other families where they feel there is none……

Email Joe's Mom