Haxhi Smajl Haxhaj Traumatic Brain Injury

For those who don’t personally know Haxhi Haxhaj, we’d like to start by sharing just a small portion of his life and his character with you. He is a loyal husband, a loving father, a proud grandfather, a supportive brother, a good friend and a dedicated and hardworking family man. Haxhi is known to lend a helping hand. He is kind, honest, generous, has a heart of gold, the strength of Hercules, the discipline of a soldier, a man of pure principle and integrity. Haxhi can be quiet and reserved but with those who know him best, he is endearing and funny. He chooses to see the good in everyone, whether you just met him or have known him for years, he is thoughtful, selfless, helpful, and giving. He constantly puts the needs of others above his own. He is sincere in everything that he does, a man of God, honor and good morals, he leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting him. He loves spending time with his two grandchildren. Haxhi wasn’t known to be the most affectionate person, that is until his first grandchild, Elira was born. Haxhi’s world revolves around Elira and Luljeta, if he isn’t spending time with them, he’s either on FaceTime with them, watching home videos of them or sharing stories about them.

Haxhi was on his annual trip in his homeland of Kosovo when the accident occurred; he was hit by a speeding car as he was walking nearby his family home. He suffers from a traumatic brain injury, he sustained many fractures to his skull and his face, internal and external bleeding, swelling, a broken arm, broken ribs and a pneumothorax (collapsed lung). After a CT scan, the doctors immediately put him in an induced coma to rest his body and calm his brain. In order to avoid further impairment, the doctors had to perform an emergency decompressive craniectomy the day after the accident. After the surgery his blood pressure remained low, he’s had a few blood transfusions along the way. On September 20th, the doctors gave Haxhi another CT scan, being that the swelling went down slightly, they decided to begin weening him off the sedation. Aside from reflexive movement, he hasn’t opened his eyes or responded to any commands or stimulation. For this stage in his recovery and for the best care and results, we, along with the doctors, decided to transfer Haxhi to a hospital in Turkey. Although, the doctors are extremely knowledgeable in Kosovo, they do not have the necessary means or resources to help him any further. Being that he has a traumatic brain injury, the pressure in the airplane could cause further swelling to his brain but the doctors approved the short haul trip to Turkey, as long as it was on a depressurized medic flight. He will remain in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for at least a month, if not longer. Because he’s been on a ventilator for three weeks, the doctors performed a Tracheotomy in hopes of preventing damage to his vocal cords and lungs; The doctors informed us that it is common to insert a feeding tube following the procedure. He is at risk for a variety of infections and pneumonia, after a mucus culture, they found that he has a bacterial infection, which they are now treating with antibiotics. He still has a chest tube to re-inflate his collapsed lung. They plan to operate on his broken arm once he is more stable and his infection has cleared. They will continue to monitor his progress through scans, tests and stimulation. We have sought-out the opinions of many doctors and professors, they all agree, it is a pure miracle he is still with us but that he has a long road ahead of him. They assume he will need inpatient intensive care recovery given the extensive damage to his brain.

Haxhi started with three jobs when he first came to America, in order to make precious and valuable family time, like homework with his then younger children, he went down to two jobs, which he has managed to keep with his hard work ethic and impeccable discipline. On top of helping others, he put money aside to secure his family’s future. Unfortunately, we are nearing the end of his savings and exhausted other means and options available at this time. The medical and travel costs are piling-up, we are appreciative for any amount donated to give a fighting chance to a man who isn’t able to ask for help himself and has always been there for others. We are hopeful that with time, the right medical care and the support from his loved ones, he will overcome this and kick a ball with his granddaughters again.

From the bottom of our hearts, we are immensely grateful for every prayer, every ounce of positivity, every bit of advice, and every penny donated to help a man whose done so much for his family, his friends, his coworkers, his community and so many others. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about who Haxhi is and his current and unfortunate situation that affects all of those who have encountered him. May God bless you and reward you all.