Josie's Accident & Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery
Donation protected
Today, 10/2/19, it has been 80 days since Josie's OneWheel accident on July 15th, 2019. Josie attends Cognitive Speech Therapy weekly and she sees the brain/TBI doctor every other week now. She saw her wound care doctor last week and her next appointment with him is in 3 weeks. She still has a long road ahead of her, but she has come so far from where she was...she is an amazing, strong (and strong-willed), courageous kid!
Josie's physical wounds have healed amazingly well. She was an absolute trooper, every day, through the many painful hours and weeks of wound debridement that she had to endure. The left side of her face is very tender, but her smile is still as beautiful as ever! Her left cheek (just beneath her eye) is slightly discolored and has some small, thin, gray/black lines in it. Those lines are little bits of the road/pavement that are so embedded in her face that we couldn’t get them out even after the many hours and weeks of debridement. Her wound care doctor said that those pieces may slowly work their way out, they may stay there, or we can choose to do a mechanical debridement in his office to remove them. Josie said she will let them stay. She says it is her “souvenir”. Thankfully, the facial fracture (between her nose and the orbital of her eye) has healed on its own. Her left elbow also has healed on its own and she seldom has any pain in it. Thankfully, she is able to straighten it all the way and she has full range of motion.
In regard to Josie's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), she recently completed Ocular Physical Therapy that she was doing to help with the vision issues (Accommodative Insufficiency, Convergence Insufficiency, and Oculomotor Dysfunction) she’s had since her accident. She may need to do a more in-depth vision therapy and we are looking into that. With vision therapy and time, these have continued and will continue to improve. Her light sensitivity has improved greatly as well. The light sensitivity bothers her more in the evenings/night or in low light situations (i.e. car lights at night, cell phone/computer light when in a dimly lit/dark place, etc). Sound sensitivity has also greatly improved and only seems to bother her when other factors are involved such as lots of people and/or movements, colored and/or moving lights, etc.
Josie still has a lot of memory loss and memory issues which are a struggle for her in many ways. There are a lot of things that she has remembered with time and a lot of things she has remembered by doing or seeing them, but there are also a lot of things that she doesn’t remember even with time and doing or seeing them. She has a few friends that she does remember, and I am so thankful for that. There are also a lot of people and friends that she doesn’t remember. This continues to be a huge struggle for her mentally and emotionally. It weighs very heavy on heart. There have been countless times of sadness, weepiness, anger, frustration, and strong emotions because of this. She wants to remember all her friends and the people that she should know. She wants to remember the conversations they have had and the things they have done together. She wants to remember our family adventures, all our extended family, her many years in Girl Scouts, being the “featured artist” in her annual middle school art show 2 years in a row, and many other things, but she doesn’t. It truly breaks her heart and it truly pains me to see her struggle with this.
The TBI related cognitive issues that she is still struggling with have caused her many academic delays. Her accident happened on July 15th, 2019, only one month before she was to begin her Freshman year of high school. Due to her accident being so close to the start of the school year, her brain/TBI doctor said that she would not be able to be in a regular classroom at a school as large as our only local public high school where we live. She was beyond the need for a Special Education/Special Needs class though. The TBI doctor suggested she take a “Medical Leave of Absence” for the first half of the school year and re-evaluate the school situation before the next semester would begin in January. The staff (at the high school she was supposed to attend) suggested Homebound schooling or online school. None of these suggestions were good ideas as all these options would leave her at home, basically secluded from any social interaction which would not help her mentally or emotionally. It would not help her cognitively either as she would not be around others to watch, listen, and learn or re-learn things. Josie’s TBI doctor also suggested looking into a much smaller school that could have the capability to work with her and accommodate her needs for positive progress and recovery from her accident and injuries.
With the doctor’s suggestions and the desire to do anything/everything possible to help my sweet child, I have spent many hours, days, and weeks researching and communicating with others. I have looked at all the options and possibilities that would give Josie the best opportunity to move forward in her recovery process, hopefully get back to where she was before her accident and allow her continued positive growth even beyond that. After everything, I found an absolutely AMAZING little school, Crown Leadership Academy. The Principal and Assistant Principal (Lathan and Sara, a beautiful husband and wife team), all the teachers, and the entire staff at Crown have spent, and continue to spend, a huge amount of time with Josie and me to make sure that we do the best for her and her forward progress through all of this. They are an absolute BLESSING!!! They have made accommodations, per the TBI doctor’s recommendations and continue to adjust as needed. They truly care about Josie and love her in every way!
Currently, Josie is working on relearning math (multiplication, division, fractions, etc), English/grammar, and many things involving higher level thinking, organization/categorization skills, multitasking, etc. She is not near her 9th grade level yet, but she is working on getting there. I'm so proud of her for continuing to overcome all she has encountered and I am also very proud of Davidson for being so good to Josie and so helpful to me!
Crown Leadership Academy is not a public school, but a private school, which means it comes at a huge financial cost. As a single Momma and the sole provider to my daughter Josie (14 yrs) and my son, her little brother, Davidson (11 yrs), I cannot afford the cost of private school. I have investigated many different options that may help with the cost of Crown (a scholarship through Crown, the Exceptional SC Program funding, the board for private education, Department of Disabilities, etc). Crown, the Exceptional SC Program, and others organizations did not have any funding left by the time I was looking into them because of how close it was to the school year starting when Josie’s accident happened and any available money already being allotted to students months earlier. Other organizations such as the Department of Disabilities did not have funding for such. It absolutely breaks my heart because this is my precious child who needs it due to an accident that she had yet I don’t have the means to provide for her what she needs. I have cried and prayed then cried and prayed many more times about what to do.
Many people have told me to start a GoFundMe page to help with Josie’s education and recovery process. At their suggestions and my absolute last resort, I am now humbly asking for help to provide for my Josie and her education during this difficult time of her recovery process. The total cost for Crown Leadership Academy is $8,200 per year. Josie is currently attending Crown Leadership Academy and they are working with me on the financial side of things while I’m trying to get funds for her education. Any amount is a Godsend and a step closer for Josie. I thank each one of you for your time in reading this and any contribution. Please feel free to send me a private message if you have questions regarding any of this. I will do my best to respond quickly and I will respond to the best of my ability. Again, thank you all!!!
Destiny, Josie, and Davidson
Josie's physical wounds have healed amazingly well. She was an absolute trooper, every day, through the many painful hours and weeks of wound debridement that she had to endure. The left side of her face is very tender, but her smile is still as beautiful as ever! Her left cheek (just beneath her eye) is slightly discolored and has some small, thin, gray/black lines in it. Those lines are little bits of the road/pavement that are so embedded in her face that we couldn’t get them out even after the many hours and weeks of debridement. Her wound care doctor said that those pieces may slowly work their way out, they may stay there, or we can choose to do a mechanical debridement in his office to remove them. Josie said she will let them stay. She says it is her “souvenir”. Thankfully, the facial fracture (between her nose and the orbital of her eye) has healed on its own. Her left elbow also has healed on its own and she seldom has any pain in it. Thankfully, she is able to straighten it all the way and she has full range of motion.
In regard to Josie's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), she recently completed Ocular Physical Therapy that she was doing to help with the vision issues (Accommodative Insufficiency, Convergence Insufficiency, and Oculomotor Dysfunction) she’s had since her accident. She may need to do a more in-depth vision therapy and we are looking into that. With vision therapy and time, these have continued and will continue to improve. Her light sensitivity has improved greatly as well. The light sensitivity bothers her more in the evenings/night or in low light situations (i.e. car lights at night, cell phone/computer light when in a dimly lit/dark place, etc). Sound sensitivity has also greatly improved and only seems to bother her when other factors are involved such as lots of people and/or movements, colored and/or moving lights, etc.
Josie still has a lot of memory loss and memory issues which are a struggle for her in many ways. There are a lot of things that she has remembered with time and a lot of things she has remembered by doing or seeing them, but there are also a lot of things that she doesn’t remember even with time and doing or seeing them. She has a few friends that she does remember, and I am so thankful for that. There are also a lot of people and friends that she doesn’t remember. This continues to be a huge struggle for her mentally and emotionally. It weighs very heavy on heart. There have been countless times of sadness, weepiness, anger, frustration, and strong emotions because of this. She wants to remember all her friends and the people that she should know. She wants to remember the conversations they have had and the things they have done together. She wants to remember our family adventures, all our extended family, her many years in Girl Scouts, being the “featured artist” in her annual middle school art show 2 years in a row, and many other things, but she doesn’t. It truly breaks her heart and it truly pains me to see her struggle with this.
The TBI related cognitive issues that she is still struggling with have caused her many academic delays. Her accident happened on July 15th, 2019, only one month before she was to begin her Freshman year of high school. Due to her accident being so close to the start of the school year, her brain/TBI doctor said that she would not be able to be in a regular classroom at a school as large as our only local public high school where we live. She was beyond the need for a Special Education/Special Needs class though. The TBI doctor suggested she take a “Medical Leave of Absence” for the first half of the school year and re-evaluate the school situation before the next semester would begin in January. The staff (at the high school she was supposed to attend) suggested Homebound schooling or online school. None of these suggestions were good ideas as all these options would leave her at home, basically secluded from any social interaction which would not help her mentally or emotionally. It would not help her cognitively either as she would not be around others to watch, listen, and learn or re-learn things. Josie’s TBI doctor also suggested looking into a much smaller school that could have the capability to work with her and accommodate her needs for positive progress and recovery from her accident and injuries.
With the doctor’s suggestions and the desire to do anything/everything possible to help my sweet child, I have spent many hours, days, and weeks researching and communicating with others. I have looked at all the options and possibilities that would give Josie the best opportunity to move forward in her recovery process, hopefully get back to where she was before her accident and allow her continued positive growth even beyond that. After everything, I found an absolutely AMAZING little school, Crown Leadership Academy. The Principal and Assistant Principal (Lathan and Sara, a beautiful husband and wife team), all the teachers, and the entire staff at Crown have spent, and continue to spend, a huge amount of time with Josie and me to make sure that we do the best for her and her forward progress through all of this. They are an absolute BLESSING!!! They have made accommodations, per the TBI doctor’s recommendations and continue to adjust as needed. They truly care about Josie and love her in every way!
Currently, Josie is working on relearning math (multiplication, division, fractions, etc), English/grammar, and many things involving higher level thinking, organization/categorization skills, multitasking, etc. She is not near her 9th grade level yet, but she is working on getting there. I'm so proud of her for continuing to overcome all she has encountered and I am also very proud of Davidson for being so good to Josie and so helpful to me!
Crown Leadership Academy is not a public school, but a private school, which means it comes at a huge financial cost. As a single Momma and the sole provider to my daughter Josie (14 yrs) and my son, her little brother, Davidson (11 yrs), I cannot afford the cost of private school. I have investigated many different options that may help with the cost of Crown (a scholarship through Crown, the Exceptional SC Program funding, the board for private education, Department of Disabilities, etc). Crown, the Exceptional SC Program, and others organizations did not have any funding left by the time I was looking into them because of how close it was to the school year starting when Josie’s accident happened and any available money already being allotted to students months earlier. Other organizations such as the Department of Disabilities did not have funding for such. It absolutely breaks my heart because this is my precious child who needs it due to an accident that she had yet I don’t have the means to provide for her what she needs. I have cried and prayed then cried and prayed many more times about what to do.
Many people have told me to start a GoFundMe page to help with Josie’s education and recovery process. At their suggestions and my absolute last resort, I am now humbly asking for help to provide for my Josie and her education during this difficult time of her recovery process. The total cost for Crown Leadership Academy is $8,200 per year. Josie is currently attending Crown Leadership Academy and they are working with me on the financial side of things while I’m trying to get funds for her education. Any amount is a Godsend and a step closer for Josie. I thank each one of you for your time in reading this and any contribution. Please feel free to send me a private message if you have questions regarding any of this. I will do my best to respond quickly and I will respond to the best of my ability. Again, thank you all!!!
Destiny, Josie, and Davidson
Organizer
Destiny Thompson Bendell
Organizer
Mt. Pleasant, SC