Support Stephen's Recovery from Severe Injuries

My name is Susan Ross, and this is my son Stephen.

On July 15th, Stephen was working construction on a commercial building roof when the roof gave way and he plunged 30ft to the concrete floor below.

He was life-flighted to a major trauma center in critical condition, with at least 20 broken bones, a punctured lung, and substantial head injuries.

He had two brain bleeds when he arrived, but a week later suffered another brain bleed, this time massive. He was rushed into surgery for a craniotomy, which necessitated a 5"x 5" square of his skull being removed, and it was unsure if he would survive.

He was on a ventilator, then subsequently they did a tracheotomy, a feeding tube was placed through his nose, and he was kept sedated for many days to allow time for things to start healing.

After 4 weeks in the ICU, he was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital, which specializes in brain injuries, where they are giving him three different therapies each day: physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

He is still in a lot of pain as the broken bones are not yet fully healed.

His speech is coming along but is slurred. He still has trouble walking and using his left arm (this was the side of his body that hit the ground).

Stephen's short-term memory has been affected, and he is still unable to fully grasp the extent and seriousness of his injuries. He will require almost constant supervision when he comes home. His working days are over, and Medicaid will only provide the most basic of necessities.

His long-term prognosis is still unknown. In about 4 more months, surgeons will replace the piece of skull that they removed, but until then he must wear a helmet any time he is not in bed.

We are going to require a lot of things to be done to the house to keep him safe once he is discharged. Medicaid will provide him with the most basic of wheelchairs but nothing that will be comfortable for him to be in for long periods of time.

It is so difficult to ask friends and strangers for help. But sometimes we have to put pride aside. And this is what I am doing. For Stephen.