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Shaun Roberts is living out his dream of being a chiropractor. He is very early in his career with hopes of helping many people for many years. He truly loves his career because he has the opportunity to impact so many lives every day in a positive way. Shaun has always been the type of guy that would volunteer his time to help others, always encouraging people to do their best, and he always can see the best in people. That’s just the type of guy he is, and it has been a true honor to be friends with him for so long. Shaun spent much of his free time working on his health, staying fit and healthy was a constant for Shaun. He has vast knowledge about healthy vitamins and nutrients and he mixes that with a rigorous workout regimen. Shaun has always been a very determined man.



On August 19th 2015 Shaun was in a motorcycle accident without wearing a helmet. Around 10:30 pm he was found near his motorcycle on the grass across from the WPGW Radio Station in Portland, Indiana. Nobody really knows how long he was laying there. Sometime later a passing car noticed the headlight of his motorcycle and stopped to help. Once the police and EMT arrived, they found Shaun lightly breathing, but still alive. Due to rainy weather in Fort Wayne an air lift was not an option. Shaun was then rushed to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana. The Doctors informed his family that Shaun has suffered TBI which is Traumatic Brain Injury, which caused internal brain hemorrhaging, also a fractured skull, and he fractured one Vertebrae. His body suffered only minimal damage, nothing vital.



This has caused Shaun to be in a Coma.



Pardon the graphics, I just want to make sure you understand what he has been through so far…



The first step was monitoring brain pressure, because of swelling from the (TBI). To do this they had to cut into his scalp then drill through his skull and insert a sensor. This sensor told the staff if Shaun was in danger of further brain damage due to swelling. Since the brain has little room to swell, Doctors feared that if it did swell too much he could suffer damage on top of the initial brain injury from the accident. Staff did everything that they could to keep his (ICP) intracranial pressure within safe ranges. They administered different drugs to draw out the pressure. After exhausting every technique and unable to maintain safe ICP levels the Doctors were forced to remove a portion of Shaun’s skull. In order to do this Doctors have to cut Shaun’s scalp from the beginning of his hairline above his forehead in the middle all the way back just above his neck and then around close to his right ear. Then they had to re-administer the procedure to insert the ICP sensor on the other side of his head. Now that a part of his skull is removed they are confident that his brain will have room to expand and swell without further damage as long as the drugs do their job in the swelling prevention. Shaun also had to get a tracheotomy, which is a breathing tube into and through his neck. Doctors want to reinsert the portion of Shaun’s skull in mid-October depending if he is ready for that.



After about a week of being in a Coma Shaun showed signs of responding to pain test, which was rewarding to all of us on this emotional roller coaster. Shaun had a couple consecutive days of good numbers and just when we thought everything was going good. A PICC line (IV close to heart) was in too far and actually ended up deep into Shaun’s Heart, about 6 centimeters. The line irritated the interior wall of his Heart and this caused an electrical disruption which caused him to have A-FIB which is a heart disorder making erratic heart beats. After 1 ½ days Shaun’s healthy body mixed with meds corrected this and the problem went away, but we lost 1 ½ days of healthy recovery time.



After 10 Days on August 29th Shaun opened his eyes for the first time! According to the staff Shaun’s recovery so far has been a “Medical Miracle”. Just the fact that he survived and is now awake. After a couple days Shaun started to make eye contact with us, and every day since he has done something new that encourages us all. Sometimes Shaun will give out a smile, snap his fingers if you show him first, says some words, wave, and though it was slight I even got a game of thumb war out of him! On another note there is some confusion and out of characteristic facial expressions that don’t match a question asked. He tends to go back and forth on this. But the Therapist in Indy seems to be pleased with his progression since the initial accident. The Therapist has informed us that Shaun will have to relearn almost everything that most of us take for granted, like chewing, walking, writing, etc...



Shaun is currently in Indianapolis at Community Rehabilitation Center. He will be able to stay as long as he shows signs of progressing in his therapy. If he shows no signs of progressing, his insurance will stop paying the facility. Forcing his family to explore other options.



Well, plans have changed for Shaun’s life and he will need help from many of us. Some of us will help him directly get back on track with his life by helping him relearn the basics, and getting physically and mentally stronger. Many of you can help in a more indirect way, which will help tremendously and that would be a generous financial donation to help him recover.



As you would expect, Shaun still has bills and debt. Currently his family is attending to these expenses. Shaun has a very long road in front of him and this recovery will continue on for a long time. It is my hope that we can all have the Shaun back that we all know and love. With any luck he will once again be a Chiropractor. To make this a reality, we will need to get Shaun the proper equipment to help him recover at home. There will be unknowns that will pop up that will help Shaun’s rehabilitation, and we will need help financially with these items. Please donate what you can, and keep him in your positive thoughts. Every dollar that comes in will be to help Shaun recover.



Thank You to everyone for the thoughts and support!

Shawn McCoy

260-729-1640

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