"You're Getting Better Every Day": It’S Not About Sports, Popularity, Hair, Clothes, Make-Up or Boys, It’S About Finding Yourself

By Sarah Victoria Jackson

June 12, 1998: a day she will never remember: When 15 year-old Sarah Jackson climbed into a car with an underage drinking driver, she didnt know that choices can impact dreams . The driver lost control and crashed. Sarah sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. She was in a coma for 3 weeks and underwent four months of rehabilitation therapy. With a journal describing her difficulties, essay reactions from friends, moms journal detailing her fears and hopes, and dads monthly newsletters updating friends of her recovery, Sarah is able to show how determination makes it possible to overcome lifes uncertainties.

Today, Sarah has become a leader in our nations efforts to promote traffic safety speaking to student and adult audiences across the country. One Life, One Captain is the name of her presentation as she promotes personal responsibility, healthy choices and that wearing a safety belt can save your life too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Oct 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450253512

Sarah Victoria Jackson

June 12, 1998: a day she will never remember: When 15 year old, Sarah Jackson, climbed into a car with an underage drinking driver, she didn’t understand that choices can impact dreams. The driver lost control and Sarah sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. She was in a coma for 3 ½ weeks and underwent four months of physical, occupational, speech and recreational rehabilitation. Sarah’s journey guides young people through a devastating ordeal they couldn’t otherwise imagine: accepting and living with brain injury, the grueling hospital stay and rehabilitation process: relearning basic motor skills (tying a shoe, buttoning pants, holding silverware) and the social challenge of resuming school life. With a journal describing her difficulties, essay reaction’s from friend’s, mom’s journal detailing her fears and hopes, and dad’s monthly newsletters updating friends of her recovery, Sarah is able to show how determination makes it possible to overcome life’s uncertainties. While it is still a struggle for Sarah to hold her breath underwater, accepting who she has now become, the withdrawals from her friends and the activities she can no longer complete are new obstacles the stand in her way. Having to take notes in school is a challenge for her, as the crash has affected her ability to write. Much of her audience becomes concerned with the fact that her friends treated her so poorly after the crash. Others comment on her strength, bravery, inspiration and willingness to teach others. Sarah is a role model for all people, as they can see the devastating struggles that she has pulled herself through. Today, Sarah has become a leader in this Nation’s efforts to promote traffic safety. She has spoken to over 15 organizations and a countless number of elementary, middle, high schools and colleges Nationwide. “One Life, One Captain,” is the name of her presentation as she teaches students personal responsibility, healthy choices and that wearing a safety belt can save their life, too. Sarah is available to speak to your organization in hopes to help the audience members help themselves. The following are just some of the many organizations/schools she has spoken to: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), National Student Safety Program (NSSP), National Organization of Youth Safety (NOYS) and the MADD International Candlelight Vigil. Speaking to Sarah’s peers across the country is what gives her hope. Kids listen to her as she can relate to their age group. Sarah is able to present at your school or organization with her program, “One Life, One Captain.” Residing in Vermont, she and her husband, Jason Massey, enjoy hiking and the outdoors.

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Contents

Perseverance

Hope

Compassion

Determination

Inspiration

Perseverance

Dad’s Monthly Newsletters

July 1998

The most important part of your body is your brain. Your heart is a close second but still plays second fiddle to what your brain does. The brain controls everything about you: your fingers playing the piano, your ear listening to the notes, your foot pushing the right piano pedals, your inner feeling of the song you’re playing so you can give it your own unique style. Every sensation, every movement, every thought, everything depends upon your brain, the master controller of your body.

There are a gazillion cells in your brain doing ten gazillion things at the same time whether you’re awake or asleep. In fact, your brain is so important that that is why there is a bone around it instead of next to it. So what happens when you fracture your skull and injure your brain? Many people enter a state of being comatose. The brain shuts down your body while it figures out what happened and begins to heal itself. And nothing else will work correctly until the brain is fully in control.

In Sarah’s case she received a little injury to a lot of places in her brain.

Her head slammed against a very hard object. This pounding caused many of her brain cells to die and many to be injured. But many cells also were not affected in the least. However, when a brain cell dies it is not replaced, unlike most of the body’s cells.

When a brain cell is injured it swells up just like your skin and muscle cells when the ankle Is sprained. For the first couple of days it really hurts to walk on that ankle. After about three weeks most of the swelling has gone down, the purple colors have gone away and you can’t feel any pain at all. It’s different with the brain.

First of all brain cells do not feel pain. That’s why you can undergo open brain surgery and have a conversation with the surgeon during the operation. Secondly, when a brain cell is swollen it doesn’t work, and when it doesn’t work you don’t either. Thirdly, swollen brain cells shrink in their own good time. When they finally heal and kick into operation you suddenly find yourself capable of doing what you’ve wanted to do all along; move your eyes, squeeze your hand, talk, think, figure math, etc. This healing, however, takes place over a period of months, even years.

Most of the healing or shrinking occurs within the first 6 to 12 months. The process is slow because the brain is so complex. The more severe the injury the longer it will take to heal. But as long as the healing process continues, Sarah will be able to do something different each week.

But at some point the progression of recovery will have run its course, when all the swollen cells have been shrunk and all the healing has been done. Only at this point we will be able to ascertain what disabilities Sarah will have and then begin teaching her how to cope with them. Until then no one can know when the recovery process will end. No one can know what brain cells have been injured or what her disabilities will be. But therapists and doctors do know what can improve her chances.

We need to stimulate her senses so that her healed brain cells will kick into operation as soon as they can and when they do Sarah will have therapists around her to help. Sarah will need this help because an injured brain cell often loses its own memory of how to do its job.

The physical therapist will help her learn to walk. The speech therapist will teach her to talk. The occupational therapist will show her how to brush her teeth. The recreational therapist will teach her how to interact with people and do the fun things that she likes to do. But without a therapist around the learning process is slowed considerably.

So what can you do to help her out?

Help us to stimulate her mind. Tell her what you and your friends have been doing. Visit her at the Fletcher Allen Health Care Rehabilitation Center on Prospect St in Burlington every couple of weeks (4pm to 6pm M-S and 10am to 4pm Sun.), send letters, photos and/or conversations on tape. She’s still waking up so talk slowly and one person at a time. Imagine yourself trying to think at 6 am on a school day. That’s how Sarah’s mind works. Her eyes are open but she’s not talking.

She is out of the coma. She walks with assistance and she performs some instructions on command. But with our and your consistent help she’ll improve and be able to work her way back into our lives once again. Until then, though, we must be very patient. Thanks so much’

Steve and Robin Jackson

Sarah’s Monthly Newsletter

August/September 1 998

It has been said that you can take 1 00 Jane Doe clones and give each an identical brain injury and wind up with 100 totally different resultant recoveries. And even then the individual’s projected recovery is only guessable and not predictable.

The brain is too complex, with connections too overwhelming for even the best neurosurgeon to offer bankable predictions as to how a brain injured patient will come through the long road of recovery.

But we do the best with what we know, and what we do know really is a lot already. We know that the application of therapy often brings patients back faster and better than patients without therapy. Why? Even the therapists don’t know why. It just works that way.

There are many types of therapists that work with brain injured patients. Speech, physical, occupational and recreational therapists are the top four for Sarah right now. They. and other therapists. work together as a team often overlapping in their individual ways with the one goal of eventually getting Sarah back to being Sarah once again.

The brain injured patient often has to relearn how to talk and the speech therapist is introduced immediately. The patient is silent either because she doesn’t know she can make sounds, can’t make sounds or doesn’t know how to make sounds into words. Now there’s a challenge: provide speech therapy for someone who doesn’t talk and who is not totally alert.

The first step for the therapist therefor, is to earn the patient’s trust, to become their friend. The therapist needs to make them comfortable as the therapist proceeds to find a way to connect with the patient’s mind and teach the basics of what most of us take for granted. Speech.

In the beginning the speech therapist reacquainted Sarah with her mouth. That sounds odd doesn’t it? But it’s true. For weeks the therapist massaged Sarah’s cheeks with her hands. She continues to massage her teeth and gums with a small foam brush.

She then introduced a bubble wand to Sarah for her to purse her lips to blow bubbles. She’ll now hold up a pin wheel for Sarah to blow air against. Ice chips are placed on her tongue to give sensations of cold or wetness. A dab of ice cream is added, a taste of a pop sickle. Slowly she begins to understand her abilities.

The speech therapist also coaches her into communicating in other ways via sign language or pointing to pictures or printed words that may tell how she feels or what she thinks. She helps Sarah comprehend what’s being said to her and brings back the art of reading to her by introducing simple words.

Future work will involve teaching her skills in making decisions, paying attention, memorizing and developing abstract reasoning. And while Sarah has to learn how to talk, she also has to learn how to swallow.

Since the accident on June 12 Sarah has been fed about 1900 calories a day through a semi-permanent tube that enters directly into her stomach. The tube is then taped to her skin under her T-shirt. When it’s time to eat the tube is unwound, uncorked and attached to a funnel. The meal is poured into the funnel and into her tummy in about three minutes.

By mid - August she started getting the hang of eating and started making sounds. Daily pleasure foods such as ice cream and pudding are now fed to her orally with the goal of eventually having all foods eaten this way and the stomach tube removed.

Both the actions of eating and talking use similar muscle groups and require similar cognitive (thinking) functions. But the abilities to eat or talk do not necessarily come back at the same time.

But Sarah is alert enough to understand us. She ordered a basketball video out of a sport’s catalog and even wrote hello on a piece of paper to her physical therapist.

So how has Sarah’s recovery progressed over the last two months?

1.   She can now walk with the help of one person instead of four.

2.   Her left leg doesn’t drag nearly as much as it used to.

3.   Her left toes are starting to wiggle a little.

4.   Her left arm is much more relaxed and starting to move.

5.   She forms a few words with her lips though still not voicing them.

6.   She sits up on her own and can even stand up on her own.

7.   Sarah now eats a little soft food at each meal (but is still on the tube)

She has regained the ability to wave, nod her head, give hugs and handshakes. She plays easy, quick card games with the recreational therapist and gives answers to simple math questions ( raising three fingers to the problem of what’s the sum of two plus one) .

The next stage of her recovery may not be a very comfortable one for us to deal with as she may start to show great anger and be a little violent. This is a very predictable stage and is actually welcomed by the staff.

At this stage her mind becomes more aware of her surrounding but is still not yet able to fully comprehend what her predicament really is. Indeed, many patients at the later parts of this stage don’t think that they are patients, that they have no business being at the center and want to go home, now! If her ability to speak comes back during this stage you may be advised to cover your ears as months of frustration and anger will come streaming out.

But this stage will probably last only two weeks or a month and mayor may not be all that noticeable. We’ll just have to wait.

In the meantime Sarah has been on the move around town. Her recreational therapist has taken her, via wheelchair, on the city bus to visit Ben and Jerry’s on Church Street, gone sailing off the Burlington dock in the hospital’s small boat and is scheduled to visit the Champlain Valley Fair.

Sarah listens to the radio and CD’s, plays catch and likes to look at photographs and listen to us read letters and magazines to her.

Soon the rehab center will give Sarah a pass to go with us to some place around town for a brief afternoon vacation. If you come to visit on a Saturday or Sunday you are welcomed to call us ahead of time to plan our schedules together. Otherwise, if no one is there when you visit, check the message board on her door to find out where everyone went.

So the next time you come up to visit her, bring along a magazine, catalog, newspaper or a cartoon ioke book ( like Garfield) and browse thru them with her. Or just talk’ But please remember to talk slowly and one at a time. Keep your conversations positive and fun. Help Sarah to keep herself motivated, positive and in great spirits.

Thanks for all your good thoughts, cards and visits. You all play a very big part in the speed of her recovery. We and the staff are all very grateful for any time you can give to Sarah. Please feel free to pass this newsletter along. It can only help.

As a reminder her visiting hours are: Monday thru Saturday... 4 pm to 6 pm Sunday... 1 0 am to 6 pm.

The Rehabilitation Center is on Prospect Street in Burlington about a mile west of the hospital.

Sincerely,

Sarah -J.’s Newsletter October 1998

To paraphrase a well known slogan ... Where there’s a will. there’s a winnerr After four months of dedicated hospital care and rehabilitation therapy Sarah will be coming home on October 20. The staff at Fletcher Allen Health. Care -Hospital and Rehabilitation Center is to be commended with a big Gold Star. We are all very fortunate to have such --- professional facilities in our vicinity.

Her recovery so far has been remarkable and in a very large part also due to the consistent stream of cards, letters, visits and prayers from all her friends. They have kept Sarah’s spirits up and running in a terribly difficult recovery process. Self motivation is crucial as the brain struggles to rearrange itself and relearn how to deal with life’s every day challenges.

Far Sarah, those challenges began with tasks many of us learned to overcome years ago. Challenges such as brushing your teeth, taking a shower, dressing yourself, walking, talking ... etc. She started doing all those last month. Well enough to come home. But this is iust the beginning as the process of recovery continues.

If you saw the movie Men In Black you’ll recall the pen light used by the good guys to erase one’s memory ... in a flash. Brain injury causes that to happen and more. When the brain sustains an iniury memory and ability are both affected. If you don’t remember how to walk, you can’t. If you don’t remember your multiplication tables you can’t multiply. Or if the electrical pathway from the brain to a muscle is damaged you might not be able to move that muscle until a new pathway is found.

But just as a sprained and swollen ankle slowly heals and shrinks so does the brain. It just takes longer, often up to two years. But most recovery occurs within the first year and it is not unusual for patients to continue improving long after that. Once you understand what’s going on between your ears the initial fear of the unknown is replaced with a fascination of the vast complexities tied up within the human brain and its ability to overcome obstacles to optimum performance.

We are ecstatic about Sarah:s progress to date. Sarah is too and is bound and determined to continue improving. Starting the week following her homecoming she will be going to the Middlebury Union High School to continue to take the same therapy classes she is now: speech, occupational, physical and recreational. The MUHS special ed department has been working with the Burlington Rehab center to insure a smooth transition. Morning therapy classes five days a week are scheduled including the H word... homework.

Typical academic classes won’t be introduced for a while. For now Sarah will be working to improve her cognitive abilities. That means she’ll be learning how to improve her perception, concentration, memory (short and long term), plus language comprehension, retention and production.

Sarah is well on the comeback trail but still can use the help of her friends. A person who is recovering from a brain iniury is more likely to injure it again than one who never had the iniury in the first place. Why? Because while the patient is healing their reasoning and physical abilities are still compromised and as a result they are more apt to make a wrong decision and wind up with another injury. A helpful hand and a wary eye for her safety would be greatly appreciated while she continues to get better every day.

And getting better she is! She eats three meals a day, is starting to do short jogs, shoots the basketball, kicks the soccer ball, (I’ll get her a field hockey stick too, Coach Jette), and does calesthetics daily. Her doctor strongly advises she does not do contact sports again so perhaps she’ll pick. up tennis or swimming now. She even learned the basics of sailing during recreational therapy.

Sarah has a great sense of humor, likes to hang out with her friends, watch TV and sports videos. McDonalds’ quarter pound cheese burgers, KFC, steak and pizza top the meal list. She loves being outdoors and hates being bored. Gee, she sounds like a typical teenager, eh? Thanks again. everybody. for all your help. Without everyone’s concerted efforts Sarah would not have recovered so well and as fast as she has.

Sincerely,

Steve and Robin Jackson

Sarah J’s Newsletter February 1 999

This will be Sarah’s last newsletter. She has happily progressed to the point that should you like to have any further information you can ask her directly. It has been a remarkable road to recovery since her severe brain injury in June of 1998. Three weeks in a coma, four months in rehabilitation, two months at school part time and now Sarah attends school all day long.

In December-she -had a six month check up with her neurosurgeon who stated that her recovery to date has been outstanding..better than he expected but that she had another 18 months to go. More time will be needed to continue the process of healing and reconnecting the myriad of neuro pathways from her brain to the rest of her body.

Sarah has been attending school full time since January taking two regular classroom academic classes ( English composition and biology) along with two hours of tutoring in English and math. She has speech therapy each day, and physical therapy and occupational therapy alternating every other day. Oh yes, and there is time for lunch too!

It is expected that with some summer time study she will get back on track with her class mates by September of 1999.

Sarah has made great progress in building strength and muscular control. She lifts weights every other day and does one-on-one sports on other days. And-although she -has--net-yet-relearned how to hold her breath under water she uses the pool at Vermont Sun once a week to improve her coordination doing various swimming and strength exercises.

She walks two miles twice a week. Her jogging form which once was awkward now is much more fluid. Her goal is to be able to jog longer

distances ( maybe up to two miles) by the summer. Once a week we go to Castleton State College to shoot baskets. ( You can’t keep a competitor down for too long you know. ) If she won’t be able to play team sports any time soon she has expressed interest in learning karate and racquetball.

The next stages in Sarah’s recovery will come at slower intervals. The brain’s executive functions will now be coming into play as her school work intensifies and she will need to better organize her day and initiate the correct steps to accomplish more involved projects.

Every kid in their teens goes through the same transition and high school is where these operations mostly begin to exhibit themselves. Sarah may need to take extra steps to make sure that her day is planned, her desk organized and her decisions are well thought out.

So Dad, when can I start driving again? Robin and I knew that question was coming. We discovered that there is an adaptive driving school/exam that is offered for people who have to relearn driving techniques.

It is usually given at about one year from the date of the injury and when she passes that she will be enrolled in a drivers’ education class.

Sarah had her Sweet 16 birthday last week. She insisted that she did not want to send out invitations ( she’s not a kid anymore you know) , but then soon forgot who and how many people she invited to the get together. She laughed when she needed an extra breath to blowout the candles but had a great time regardless. It’s nice to see her smiling again.

Sarah will continued to be tested at regular intervals by all sorts of medical people to chart her progress. As time goes on she will be able to do more of the things she used to do and pick up strategies to overcome the things she can’t.

Thank you to all who have helped us out along the way. Your thoughts, prayers and good deeds have made a huge difference in Sarah’s recovery and have been our family’s main source of strength. Although Sarah cannot remember all the cards, letters and visits to the hospital and the rehabilitation center from her friends, we do. Please know that your efforts will never be forgotten and will be passed along to others for the rest of our lives. Our family and friends have truly been a wondrous community.

Sincerely,

Steve and Robin Jackson

Hope

Mom’s journal

Monday, June 15, 1998

12:35 PM

Sarah Suzie Quzie,

My heart is breaking seeing you this way. I never knew I could hurt this much. I miss you and want you back so badly. I know you’re a fighter, and young and strong, so I have to believe that you are doing your very best to come out of this coma. (Okay, I need to keep this journal as positive as possible because this is written for you. I must try to keep my anger and profound sadness to a minimum!)

I thought I would keep a journal for you. So many, many of your friends have come by to see you. Of course, they can’t actually see you - intensive care is for immediate family only. We put a spiral notebook in the waiting room for people to sign. We didn’t do that until yesterday (Sunday) so all those we came on Saturday missed it. We tried to remember who came and wrote it down, but we may have missed a few.

One of the nurses just came in and said that you would be going for a CAT scan in about