Charlie Garrison

My 14 year old son Greg was vacationing with his mother when he fell off of a 65 foot cliff hitting a large rock head first. He was taken to the local trauma Center with brain matter coming out his skull and nostrils He had immediate brain surgery upon arrival and the doctor's didn't give us much to hope for. We were told that he had a less than 25% chance of survival. X-rays and CT's showed he had broken every bone in his face, completely destroyed the orbital on the right side and fractured the plate that brain rests on in the sinus area. Three hours after the surgery he was rushed back for another 5 hour surgery to save his life. Intercranial pressure had reached dangerous levels and the team needed to remove his skull so his brain could expand. 45% of his skull was removed on the right side and placed into his abdomen for future replacement if he survived. All of this happened within the first 12 hours in the Trauma Unit.

Greg was in a coma after the 2nd surgery and the doctors kept him "paralyzed" with medication. He stayed in this condition for 7 days and we almost lost him twice due to cranial pressure problems. Again, the staff gave us little hope and told us we would be at this Trauma Center up to 8 months if he survived.

On the 9th day the neurosurgeon asked if we would agree to remove the ventilator and see what would happen. Nobody knew if he would breathe on his own and if he didn't the tube couldn't be put back in due to the damage in his face and the swelling. We gave permission and the tube was removed. The doctor removed the tube and and bent over to Greg's face and asked if that felt better. To all of our total amazement he not only could breathe on his own, but he said, "a little bit". Dad and Mom both cried as well as every medical person in the room.

That same afternoon he was sitting on the side of his bed and talking some. That night he was up and walking around his room with some assistance. He was one beat up and mangled 14 year old but he wasn't ready to quit on himself. The 8 month prediction turned into 13 days when he was loaded into a Paramedic Ambulance for the trip home (150 miles) and to our local rehab facility.

Greg requires constant attention since he is blind. He severed the Optic Nerve on the right side in the fall and damaged the left side. He has 20/400 vision on the left and uses a blind cane, protective helmet and safety belt. He will start Braille Training shortly and a Guide Dog has been recommended. He attends physical therapy 3 times weekly for 3 hours a day.

Greg can walk on his own, shower himself and dress himself. He isn't the same Greg we once had but he's still a bright, funny and personable teenager. He starts home tutoring next week from our school district.

At the time of this writing it has been less than 90 days since he fell. He has had an amazing recovery to this point but I want to point out to anyone who reads this one thing. All of the "big things" happen early on in recovery (talking, walking, etc.) and as you continue the Journey things slow way down. We don't have anymore big gains with Greg. Any advances he has will come slowly. And take time to notice. He needs a lot of help in areas like speech and occupational therapy.

To date, none of the broken bones in his face have been fixed. He will have another major surgery in about 10 months to correct his face, sinuses and forehead. After that he will have at least one more plastic surgery to finish things off.

Greg is one lucky boy. He shouldn't have survived a 65 foot free fall head first into a rock the size of a garage. We were told that he would be in Trauma for 8 months and it's looking we will be done with all surgeries at the one year mark. This has been a miracle in many ways. I wish that no parent would go through this, but if you do, I wish you the same amount of luck we got.

Greg's Dad...Charlie.