There is Still Hope

At the age of 14, one of my closest childhood friends was struck by a car that ran a red light and hit him and two other people in the crosswalk. My friend suffered critically severe head trauma. I don’t know the specific details of his brain injury, but I remember visiting him in the hospital when he was in a medically induced coma and half of his skull had been removed to help accommodate the swelling of his brain. Doctors and neurosurgeons did everything they could, but, at the time, they did not ever expect him to regain consciousness. After two long and grueling years during which he endured countless brain surgeries, regular physical therapy and other forms of mental stimulation, he miraculously woke up and slowly began the long road to recovery.  

Since he regained consciousness, he has had to relearn everything and I mean EVERYTHING. He started from moving just his eyes, then his head and since then he has relearned how to breath (without a breathing tube), eat, walk, talk and every other basic everyday function that we all take for granted. It is now about five years since the accident and although he seems to keep improving, making small steps all the time, the road to full recovery is extremely long. Although I am afraid he may never reach 100%, given where he is now compared to where he came from, I will not give up hope. He is incredibly resilient and very determined. I am in absolute awe of the improvements he has made and what he is capable of today.