On march 22nd 2015...my 22 year old son had planned to go off roading on his quad...he just had to go 2 mins up the road to take hs quad to a van that was waiting for him...but he never made it to the van...
police say the quad was a death trap..Nick had only had it 2weeks...the brakes,accellorator and steering was all knackered...witnesses say he was driving erratucally and over taking people...but that woud of explained the brakes not working and the accelorator sticking. Within minutes of him leaving home..i heard the air ambulance and i felt sick...then i had that dreaded phone call from the police.
nick was airlifted to the QE in birmingham where he was operated on strait away..he had his skull removed to relieve the pressure on his brain..and a plate where his eye socket was as the bone pierced his brain. Nick was in an induced coma for 2 weeks when they woke him up...it was a miracle...nick was giving us the thumbs up and nodding...he knew who i was...i was so overwhelmed...however the next day he suffered a major setback...he contracted meningitis from where his eye socket pierced his brain...since that day he has been un responsive...28 weeks have now passed...28 weeks ive not heard his voice..he is awake and fully alert...he makes eyecontact and i believe he knows who i am and what i say...but he cant move anything or say anything ...he doesnt obey commands...however i can see him trying. He has damaged the both frontal lobes from impact...and the back from where the brain shook. I believe nick will respond again one day...i will never give up on him. Everyweek that passes gets harder...not seeing him smile or him just saying mum. They say the frontal lobes are personality and emotion....but i have seen several emotions in nicks eyes...ive seen sadness.ive seen pain.ive seen pride.ive seen love.and ive seen anger.ive read stories and i know miracles happen...my boy is my miracle cus he should never of survived the crash...he has fought meningitis...cdiff 4 times and scepticemia twice and he has come through it...so i no he will get there...but my heart has broken bigtime...i no he will never be the same as he was...but i still have my boy...with a whole new personality to love.
Jan 2016
It has now been 41 long weeks since my boys accident. Since i last posted so much has happened . After nick got over scepticemia twice we waited 11 weeks for a bed back in rehab. The bed co-ordinator at WRH advised me to write to the chief executive as it was like nick was being overlooked..people were coming and going but my boy just stayed. So thats what i did and within 2 days of me writing a stern letter nick had a place in Moseley Hall rehab on 16th november . I was so happy but sad at the same time because at WRH he was only up the road from me and now he is miles away again. Unfortunately on november 22nd, he was only in rehab for 6 days when he started to have seizures. Id never seen a seizure before so it was really scary seeing my boy have one. He had 3 in 3 hours so the doctors said it was best to get him checked out back at the QE. So we went to a&e..on the way nick was so sick..he hates travelling as it is but is worse being lay down going backwards in an ambulance!. After spending 10 hours in a&e (ironically in the same cubicle as when nick first had his accident and exactly 8 months to the day!)and after ct scans and xrays we went up to ward 407. I was allowed to stay with him. Nick had a lumbar puncture done at 4.15am to see if he had infection in his head. Luckily it was clear. At around 630-7am the nurse started his feed(through his peg) at this time i was getting sleepy and had my head on nicks bed...but within minutes nick was gagging..i jumped up to lift his head and a student raised the head rest...she had put his feed on while he was lay flat. After 9 months i know that u are supposed to be at a 30 or 45 degree angle...never flat! Nick aspirated. He vomitted and his lung filled. The next half hour was a blur..his heart rate soared to 189 and his sp02 level was 39% and that was with 100% oxygen being given to him. My boy was really fighting for his life.he couldnt breathe. Doctors flooded in and surrounded nicks bed. A professor came(not realising i was his mum)and asked if his family had been informed. He apologised once he knew who i was. He took me into a room and asked me what i wanted..nick was very poorly and did i want him to save my son? What a question to be asked! Obviously i said please do what u can to save my boy. They sedated nick there and then on the ward as nick was to poorly to go back to critical care as he was. I gave him a kiss and promised i would be there when he woke. He was sedated from that monday morning until the thursday. Soon after nick had a chest infection caused by the aspiration. Then was ok for a day then yet another chest infection came. Nick was so poorly. His temperature kept spiking. But the antibiotics seemed to be working. After about 10 days in critical care nick was able to go back to the ward. I made it clear that the nurse that did this to him was not to look after him again..and shes lucky she never crossed my path because i wouldnt be held responsible for my actions. As her one stupid mistake by keeping nick lay flat instead of at an angle nearly cost my boy his life. He almost died. Ironically again..nick was in the exact same ward and room as he was after the accident. Nick was still having problems with his breathing and i could feel it all on his chest. Another xray was done. My fears were confirmed. Nick now had pneumonia. I was called back to the QE on one saturday night as nicks sats were really low and all the ITU doctors had been called cus he was struggling to breathe. When i got there he was ok..he had cleared his chest himself. A week after that...my sister came with me to visit him. For the first time in 9 months his heart rate was normal at about 89. But then it kept getting lower and lower . It got to about 52..doctors came and went taking bloods and poking and prodding as they do...and nick didnt flinch. He was in a total deep sleep. At this point everyone was getting anxious...i really didnt think he was going to wake up :(. But after 5 hours...all of a sudden he opened his eyes..did a big yawn and stretch! And his heart rate went back to 89. The lil bugger frightened the life out of me..and everyone else. A week before xmas i was called in to speak to a doctor about nick having a shunt fitted. He couldnt understand why it hadnt already been done..he said nick will benefit from it and would possibly be more alert and responsive if there wasnt so much fluid/ pressure in his head. So the next day he was operated on and as soon as he came back he was wide awake and fully alert. Sadly that night...at 2am the hospital called me. Nicks stats had all dropped and they couldnt stabilise him. I got there and sat with him all night just stroking his face. He was so tired but couldnt goto sleep as he had hiccups continuasly for 24 hours. It was a shock to see him though as the shunt had got rid of the fluid in nicks head and the dip was so drastic...it was so scary. He was exhausted. His stats improved but he had to be closely monitored as again he had loads on his chest. They changed the pressure on the shunt and now nicks head looks kind of normal. Nick has still been unresponsive throughout these 9 months. On xmas night i asked him to point his finger as i pointed mine. And OMG...he pointed strait away. I was so overwhelmed. Nick is my miracle. December he had 2 chest infections and pneumonia al aused by the aspiration...which was caused by 1 stupid mistake that a nurse made. I nearly lost him several times. But nick has overcome everything. He has proved all the medics wrong as 2 weeks ago they were talking about a palletive care plan to be put in place....but he is now stronger than ever. On new years eve nick was fit enough to go back to Moseley Hall...new year new start...and if that isnt a lucky sign then him bein in bed number lucky 7 has got to be. My boy deserves a break. Hopefully now he can finally get the rehab he needs and start to improve. I have put in a huge letter of complaint about the incompetance of that nurse. Im looking into how to get nick home and to let rehab come to him. Then he will have family and friends round him all day that will help his rehab...instead of physios going just an hour a day. Thanku for taking the time to read my boys journey...sorry its all long winded. But i just wanted you all to keep the faith...never ever give up...miracles really do happen..my boys living proof. Headway contacted me in the hospital and were loverly. They helped financially with parking for the last couple of weeks and also help with petrol as you can imagine the financial strain this is all having.
Good luck to each and every one of you. We are all very unique and even though our stories maybe similar they are also very different. No injury is the same. One nurse gave me hope...she said nick is tracking amazingly well...he looks at everyone and at what they are doing...and with his eyes working like that...his brain is working to.
much love to you all
janie x
Update! 
Advice on how to help my father welcome
Sleep after head injury for my 12 year old
My husband is a TBI survivor!
