Jason's Recovery and Road to Eating Again
Donation protected
My name is Jessica Schlitter and I am Jason Pagan’s fiancé and organizer of this GoFundMe campaign for Jason’s recovery.
It has been over two years since Jason has been able to eat food by mouth. Here is his story:
Background
In May of 2017 Jason Pagan was involved in a tragic accident that nearly took his life. First responders airlifted him to the nearest level one trauma hospital. Immediately after arrival Jason received a tracheostomy, was placed on ventilator support, and put into a chemically induced comatose state. After the trauma team was able to stabilize Jason he was brought to the operating room where several surgeons worked diligently to stop the multiple areas of bleeding, clean and close his wounds. Jason suffered head-to-toe trauma including a traumatic brain injury, three broken vertebrae, broken ribs, a collapsed right lung, a crushed right forearm with massive tissue loss, a broken left leg with massive tissue loss and nerve damage, and multiple lacerations.
Aside from the brain injury, the worst injury was to Jason’s face. You see, over 70% of Jason’s mandible (lower jaw) was ripped out in the accident and the remaining portion of his mandible was severely broken. To make matters worse Jason lost his tongue. In a matter of seconds Jason’s ability to eat and drink had been taken away from him. Due to the loss of his tongue and need for significant facial reconstructive surgery, Jason had a gastrostomy tube (g-tube) inserted into his stomach, a medical device that he uses to this day for receiving medications and nutrition.
In the beginning Jason’s overall prognosis was somewhat unclear. The neurosurgery team kept him in a chemically induced comatose state to give time for his brain to recover from the initial trauma. Each evening the neurosurgery team would pause the medications and wake him up. The goal was to assess his neurological status. I will never forget the first time he began to wake up. The lower half of his face was wrapped in blood-soaked gauze and he was unable to talk, but I repeatedly called his name and he opened his eyes and looked right at me, slowly raised his hand and held my face. I knew in that moment that he still knew who I was, and I was confident that he was “still in there”, so to speak.
The following weeks in intensive care consisted of monitoring the pressure in Jason’s brain, weaning him off of the ventilator, going to OR for wound washouts, wound vac changes, skin grafts, reconstructive surgery on his right arm, and reconstructive surgery on the right side of his jaw to stabilize what was left of the fragmented mandible. After spending four weeks in intensive care at Good Samaritan he was transferred to Rush University Medical Center for another round of reconstructive surgery on his jaw. Soon after surgery Jason was stable enough to begin the inpatient rehabilitation program at Rush where he relearned how to do the things that we don’t think twice about, like walking and learning how to communicate and speak without a tongue. Jason has exceeded the doctors’ expectations every step of the way, and true to his nature he has remained positive.
After two months of being in the hospital Jason was finally released home to continue his recovery and outpatient therapy, but the surgeries would continue. On Halloween 2018 Jason underwent a 12-hour surgery where his right fibula was removed and transplanted to the left side of his lower jaw to fill in the missing bone. The recovery from this surgery took nearly a year to fully heal, however the anatomy of his jaw at this moment has left him with a very steep slope. Jason manages his saliva secretions with a portable suction machine, which he must always keep with him, and is still unable to eat by mouth.
Recommended Treatment
The next phase in his recovery includes yet another major surgery on his lower jaw. Like all the surgeries before, this surgery is very complex. The craniofacial surgeon will need to take bone from his hip, transplant it to his jaw and reposition the angle of his jaw. The goal is for his lower jaw to have proper alignment and close correctly with the upper jaw so that Jason can manage his saliva without use of a suction machine and provide the proper anatomy for chewing food.
However, in order to proceed with this surgery, the craniofacial surgeon needs Jason’s upper teeth restored in order to create a “home base” from which to plan where, and how, he will reconstruct the lower jaw. Although damage to Jason’s teeth was the result of a traumatic injury, and the need to restore them is medically necessary, insurance will not cover the cost of restoring his teeth.
Without the restoration of his teeth, Jason will not be able to proceed with the next surgery to restructure his jaw so he can eat again.
If, however, we can raise money to restore his teeth, we will be able to proceed with the reconstruction of Jason’s mandible so that we can finally reach the last phase of Jason’s recovery…a tissue transplant to create a “pseudo tongue”. This “pseudo tongue” will be made from one of the muscles in Jason’s arm which will be transplanted into his mouth where his tongue once was. Although this muscle will never move like a tongue does, it will provide the bulk needed to help Jason push food to the back of this throat.
Where Your Donation Will Go
Our goal is to raise at least $8000 to help Jason with the following:
1) Restoring his upper teeth so we can proceed with surgical planning for the reconstruction of his lower jaw.
2) Intensive outpatient speech therapy rehabilitation which will include swallowing therapy, which Jason will need to help him relearn how to eat.
3) Any other out-of-pocket expenses that he may incur during his rehabilitation, including supplies for his suction machine.
More Background on Jason and Jessica (campaign organizer)
Jason is a beloved son, brother, uncle, friend, fiancé and colleague. Prior to the accident, Jason was working his dream job with an amazing group of people, with plans on purchasing a home and planning for our wedding. Jason is and always has been a very positive person who always looks at the cup half full. He is a very happy person who can make friends with anyone. Despite the challenges of everyday life, he remains positive and hopeful for the future. He wants nothing more than to put his recovery behind him and get back to living the life he once knew. Jason is the strongest man I have ever known. He has endured so much from this change of life, but he remains positive and he works hard everyday to get stronger and push forward with his recovery. I am proud to say that Jason has been my best friend and significant other for the past sixteen years. He makes me a better person and inspires me in so many ways.
Thank you for reading Jason’s story. We deeply appreciate any help or contribution, no matter how big or small! We understand that some people cannot afford to provide a monetary donation, if this is the case, we would truly appreciate any prayers, love, or good vibes that you can offer us. For those of you that have helped Jason already, please know that we will be forever grateful for your generosity, because it helped him get to where he is today!
We also want to thank the numerous doctors, nurses, therapists and health care staff at Advocate Good Samaritan, Rush University Medical Center, and University of Illinois Craniofacial Institute for providing outstanding, life saving medical care. Your excellence in care saved Jason's life and we are forever grateful!
Please feel free to share our campaign link on social media and with your friends and family. We will keep everyone posted on Jason’s progress moving forward and on the use of funds for his recovery. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly.
It has been over two years since Jason has been able to eat food by mouth. Here is his story:
Background
In May of 2017 Jason Pagan was involved in a tragic accident that nearly took his life. First responders airlifted him to the nearest level one trauma hospital. Immediately after arrival Jason received a tracheostomy, was placed on ventilator support, and put into a chemically induced comatose state. After the trauma team was able to stabilize Jason he was brought to the operating room where several surgeons worked diligently to stop the multiple areas of bleeding, clean and close his wounds. Jason suffered head-to-toe trauma including a traumatic brain injury, three broken vertebrae, broken ribs, a collapsed right lung, a crushed right forearm with massive tissue loss, a broken left leg with massive tissue loss and nerve damage, and multiple lacerations.
Aside from the brain injury, the worst injury was to Jason’s face. You see, over 70% of Jason’s mandible (lower jaw) was ripped out in the accident and the remaining portion of his mandible was severely broken. To make matters worse Jason lost his tongue. In a matter of seconds Jason’s ability to eat and drink had been taken away from him. Due to the loss of his tongue and need for significant facial reconstructive surgery, Jason had a gastrostomy tube (g-tube) inserted into his stomach, a medical device that he uses to this day for receiving medications and nutrition.
In the beginning Jason’s overall prognosis was somewhat unclear. The neurosurgery team kept him in a chemically induced comatose state to give time for his brain to recover from the initial trauma. Each evening the neurosurgery team would pause the medications and wake him up. The goal was to assess his neurological status. I will never forget the first time he began to wake up. The lower half of his face was wrapped in blood-soaked gauze and he was unable to talk, but I repeatedly called his name and he opened his eyes and looked right at me, slowly raised his hand and held my face. I knew in that moment that he still knew who I was, and I was confident that he was “still in there”, so to speak.
The following weeks in intensive care consisted of monitoring the pressure in Jason’s brain, weaning him off of the ventilator, going to OR for wound washouts, wound vac changes, skin grafts, reconstructive surgery on his right arm, and reconstructive surgery on the right side of his jaw to stabilize what was left of the fragmented mandible. After spending four weeks in intensive care at Good Samaritan he was transferred to Rush University Medical Center for another round of reconstructive surgery on his jaw. Soon after surgery Jason was stable enough to begin the inpatient rehabilitation program at Rush where he relearned how to do the things that we don’t think twice about, like walking and learning how to communicate and speak without a tongue. Jason has exceeded the doctors’ expectations every step of the way, and true to his nature he has remained positive.
After two months of being in the hospital Jason was finally released home to continue his recovery and outpatient therapy, but the surgeries would continue. On Halloween 2018 Jason underwent a 12-hour surgery where his right fibula was removed and transplanted to the left side of his lower jaw to fill in the missing bone. The recovery from this surgery took nearly a year to fully heal, however the anatomy of his jaw at this moment has left him with a very steep slope. Jason manages his saliva secretions with a portable suction machine, which he must always keep with him, and is still unable to eat by mouth.
Recommended Treatment
The next phase in his recovery includes yet another major surgery on his lower jaw. Like all the surgeries before, this surgery is very complex. The craniofacial surgeon will need to take bone from his hip, transplant it to his jaw and reposition the angle of his jaw. The goal is for his lower jaw to have proper alignment and close correctly with the upper jaw so that Jason can manage his saliva without use of a suction machine and provide the proper anatomy for chewing food.
However, in order to proceed with this surgery, the craniofacial surgeon needs Jason’s upper teeth restored in order to create a “home base” from which to plan where, and how, he will reconstruct the lower jaw. Although damage to Jason’s teeth was the result of a traumatic injury, and the need to restore them is medically necessary, insurance will not cover the cost of restoring his teeth.
Without the restoration of his teeth, Jason will not be able to proceed with the next surgery to restructure his jaw so he can eat again.
If, however, we can raise money to restore his teeth, we will be able to proceed with the reconstruction of Jason’s mandible so that we can finally reach the last phase of Jason’s recovery…a tissue transplant to create a “pseudo tongue”. This “pseudo tongue” will be made from one of the muscles in Jason’s arm which will be transplanted into his mouth where his tongue once was. Although this muscle will never move like a tongue does, it will provide the bulk needed to help Jason push food to the back of this throat.
Where Your Donation Will Go
Our goal is to raise at least $8000 to help Jason with the following:
1) Restoring his upper teeth so we can proceed with surgical planning for the reconstruction of his lower jaw.
2) Intensive outpatient speech therapy rehabilitation which will include swallowing therapy, which Jason will need to help him relearn how to eat.
3) Any other out-of-pocket expenses that he may incur during his rehabilitation, including supplies for his suction machine.
More Background on Jason and Jessica (campaign organizer)
Jason is a beloved son, brother, uncle, friend, fiancé and colleague. Prior to the accident, Jason was working his dream job with an amazing group of people, with plans on purchasing a home and planning for our wedding. Jason is and always has been a very positive person who always looks at the cup half full. He is a very happy person who can make friends with anyone. Despite the challenges of everyday life, he remains positive and hopeful for the future. He wants nothing more than to put his recovery behind him and get back to living the life he once knew. Jason is the strongest man I have ever known. He has endured so much from this change of life, but he remains positive and he works hard everyday to get stronger and push forward with his recovery. I am proud to say that Jason has been my best friend and significant other for the past sixteen years. He makes me a better person and inspires me in so many ways.
Thank you for reading Jason’s story. We deeply appreciate any help or contribution, no matter how big or small! We understand that some people cannot afford to provide a monetary donation, if this is the case, we would truly appreciate any prayers, love, or good vibes that you can offer us. For those of you that have helped Jason already, please know that we will be forever grateful for your generosity, because it helped him get to where he is today!
We also want to thank the numerous doctors, nurses, therapists and health care staff at Advocate Good Samaritan, Rush University Medical Center, and University of Illinois Craniofacial Institute for providing outstanding, life saving medical care. Your excellence in care saved Jason's life and we are forever grateful!
Please feel free to share our campaign link on social media and with your friends and family. We will keep everyone posted on Jason’s progress moving forward and on the use of funds for his recovery. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly.
Organizer
Jessica Ann
Organizer
Shorewood, IL