Our John hit a tree while driving home from work on Friday October 23. He was unconscious at the scene and taken by ambulance to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. They stabilized him and initially found a broken clavicle, neck injury, broken rib with punctured lung, and swelling in the brain. An MRI shows that his brain has experienced DAI - Diffuse Axonal Injury. When this occurs the axons, which carry messages and signals back and forth throughout the brain, are severed and these cannot be regrown. Doctors have given him a difficult prognosis, 90% of people with this injury at the severity that he has do not regain conciousness, and when he does, his life will be changed dramatically and the road to recovery will be long. As of October 29 he is still in ICU and has not regained consciousness, we are taking the situation one hour at a time, one day at a time, but he needs all the encouragement he can get. This news has been difficult for everyone but we are staying positive and doing our best to give him the best possible chance for recovery. We're believers of Miracles and we Believe in John. For more information on his condition read here:http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/traumatic-brain-injury-types/diffuse-axonal-injury/index.htmlJohn is 26 years old and has had many challenges with experiencing a normal life until April of this year, when he moved to Wisconsin to start over with his Dad David's help. He starting working and then pursued a job with and was accepted into the Iron Workers Local 8 - welding and doing a job he Loves! His fiancee Lacy moved here so they could start a life together. John loved fishing, sometimes spending up to ten hours on the lake at a time trying to catch The Big One to catch up to his sister Rachel. Lacy and John also got a Bully puppy and are training it for show. Life had finally given John some simple pleasures he had missed through many years. That Friday night, life changed. To what extent, we don't know yet . We are trying to raise funds to support John's recovery by enabling his family to be by his bedside and encourage him to wake up and come back to us. Companionship, encouragement and social stimulation are vital to giving John his best chance. Some of the expenses we estimated for this fund includes:Lacy and David are commuting at least an hour every day to Milwaukee (longer when it snows or is icy), sometimes making the trip twice a day - to be with John, to attend family meetings with medical staff, to attend rehabilitation and therapy sessions so they can learn to provide care that John will need, and to handle other special healthcare needs as they come up. During bad weather days, David or Lacy may need to stay in a Milwaukee motel overnight. David's and Lacy's fuel costs along with lost wages from time away from work are big concerns we are trying to address. And Lacy is currently borrowing a car and may eventually need another option to make the commute. Debbie and Rachel need to fly from Reno Nevada to Milwaukee to see John, with airfare of around $500 per person needed per round trip. Also, during Debbie's absence from home, 24/7 skilled nursing care is needed for Debbie's mother (John's grandma), which costs over $200/day at a nursing home. They have made 1 trip in October, and ideally would like to make 1 or 2 more trips over the next 4 months.Of the stories we have found where patients recover from severe DAI, hospital stays can last 2 months or more; rehabilitation hospitalization can last another two or more months. While we wish there was a magic spell that let's us take John out of the hospital, walking and talking and recovered within a month, realistically we needed to plan for at least 4-6 months of support. We are deeply grateful if you would include John in your prayers. Thank you for reading. - Lacy, David, Debbie, Rachel More detailed account here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/debbie-kerswill/john-has-dai/993417297384748
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