My son Garrett had an accident on November 10, 2019, just 10 days before his 25th birthday. He slipped off of his motorcycle in a curve and was hit by an oncoming car. He was pinned underneath the car, face down for an uncertain amount of time. The accident itself didn’t cause his brain injury. He went into cardiac arrest twice on the way to the hospital which caused him to lose oxygen and left him with Anoxic Brain Injury. He spent the first month in the critical care unit and was then transferred to a long-term acute care facility where he received horrible treatment from the neurologist on staff. During this time, he began having seizure activity. He got a tracheostomy and peg tub for his 25th birthday. Several Dr.s wrote him off and told us he would never have a life outside of a vegetative state. His GCS was 3. We were told he would never recover. We have never believed this! We always knew Garrett was still with us and we just needed to help him come out.
His life before his accident was full of giving. Garrett has always been kind and generous with giving to others. This road to recovery has been slow and filled with several setbacks, Covid was the toughest of all. During that time, the healthcare industry generally overlooked anyone who needed any care outside of covid. Garrett was overlooked and sedated just so he didn’t have to be cared for by those who didn’t really see him or didn’t look at him as a real person. His family has always seen Garrett trying to communicate and trying to recover, but without the proper help, it is the most difficult thing I could have ever imagined.
We have spent every day for the past 4 years caring for Garrett. We have spent so much time fighting with insurance companies, begging them to give him the things he needs to recover. It’s a never-ending battle and they would rather cover the cost of a nursing home where he would go to die than to cover the cost of functional treatments that would help him regain his life!
There are so many functional treatments out there that are beneficial to treating brain injury, but none are covered under insurance. We are looking for funds to help him recover his life so that he can get back to helping others in need! The funds we receive would cover Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Low Laser Light Therapy, Stem Cell treatments among others. We would like to do an inpatient stay at the Apex Brain Center in NC as well as intensive treatments at The Austin Center for Developing minds (ACDM). The ACDM has groundbreaking treatments for brain injury patients and getting 2 weeks of care there would give a lifetime of benefits!
Garrett has a great support group and his girlfriend of 7+ years is still by his side every day. He has two stepmoms who play vital roles in caring for Garrett. We all work full-time jobs, and every spare minute is used for Garrett in one way or another. By the way, fighting insurance companies is a full-time job on its own. Any funds we receive would be used for all these things, plus any other treatments that we are able to find that would be beneficial.
Thank you for any donation, every penny is very much appreciated and will be put towards Garrett’s road to recovery! He has a story to tell… we need him to tell it!
Garrett’s mom – Sherry
@garrettrileyyoung