Justin's Medical Journey
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Hi, my name is Tracy Davis and I am a mother of five children. I am the head of our household so I am responsible for all the finances for my family. Currently I live with my boyfriend and five children on a very remote island in Hawaii, named Molokai. The is a little over 8 thousand people here. Were we live we don't have opportunities like most, which makes my story even harder. I am not sure if my cry for help will work, but I know through God's grace he will provide. Here is my story.
I have a 23-year-old son, named Justin Davis Namauu. At the young age of 19, Justin was involved in a motor vehicle accident. At the time, I was pregnant to his baby sister and waited her arrival. I was at full term. I received a call at about 12 midnight telling me of his accident. Justin was a passenger in a car, when his friend lost control of her vehicle. The only person not injured was able to call for help and reach out to his mom to find us. She died at the seen and injured both Justin and his friend badly. <3 We truly miss her <3. Justin sustained a traumatic brain injury leaving him in a comma for 8 months. He had sustained an injury that left him with a bleeding brain. They operated immediately. They said he would never recover from his injuries and gave him a 5% chance of surviving this accident.
Justin had a major injury to his head, his heart was working at a 40% rate, his blood pressure was extremely high, and his body temperature was at a steady 104 degrees. I didn't look good, but I never left his side. So many emotions. Having a baby and possibly losing my first baby. Doctor's basically said it was just a waiting game and I needed to consider my options. A week later they decided that they would try to see if he could breathe a little on his own, to see what his conditions were like. When they tried it, he took to breathing well. It was only for short periods, but the signs were favorable. Within minutes of the great news, my contractions started and that morning his healthy baby sister arrived. She has been by his side his entire recovery too.
Here's a little history about Justin. He is the eldest of my children and was a very intelligent young man. He has a brother and sister from my first relationship. His father was never in their lives, so Justin was basically the dad to his siblings. Justin is well liked and had a lot of friends growing up. He devoted a lot of time and love to them too. But Justin saw the struggle. He new how hard I worked and what my reasons were. He studied very hard and helped with his siblings. He reminded me often that he would never be like his dad and would work really hard so that someday he could take care of our family and me. While in the 5th grade Justin got hurt at a summer program. He sustained a dislocated hip and needed surgery immediately. I recalled Justin asking his anesthesiologist, what he job was. The doctor explained briefly and then he asked, how much money do you make? It was right then and there he knew what he wanted to do and declared to me that he will be a doctor. And he worked hard to get there. His passion made my passion grow, and at that same time I knew I needed to do more for my family. Before returning home to Molokai I applied to the University of Hawaii, Manoa for my Bachelors in Education.
In the 9th grade Justin was accepted into Kamehameha Schools, Kapalama (a school for Hawaiian children) and worked really hard to excel in his studies. When he graduated in 2010, Justin already had his college chosen and all his tuition covered. He had earned scholarships to cover all his expenses and started his bucket (not knowing her would never do what he wanted on that list), He attended his freshmen year in Portland Oregon and did great. He then decided to return to Hawaii because he was homesick. I gave him the ok, as long as he continued in college. He did his transfer, and got into the University of Hawaii at Maui campus. When moving home Justin attended school full-time, had two jobs, had an apartment of his own and owned his first vehicle. All at the age of 19. He was very independent and worked hard so I wouldn't struggle. Such a strong individual. My idol.
Then the accident happened. It is so hard to see him this way. All of his potential lost in the blink of an eye. All he had worked his whole life, gone. As Justin continues to recover we witness the miracles of God's work. Justin will be 3 year post recovery on October 28. He is now talking, singing, eating solid foods, and has a very happy attitude. He doesn't walk and his memory is not very clear, so it is our family’s job to get him there. We are his arms and legs, his brain and his voice. His contractures need lots of work too. He has moved home with our family but because Justin was only 19 at the time of the accident he had no medical coverage. My parents basically pulled out their retirement to get him oxygen therapy to speed up his recovery. He is also to young to collect Social Security. He lives on about $235 dollars a month for his disability. That goes just to his medical supplies. Medicaid covers him, but they don't support TBI recovery for young adults. We are not able to get him an electric chair because of where we live. There is no service provider that can provide maintenace, so medicaid says no. He is limited to only 20 hours of physical therapy a year, and anybody knows that the possibly of full recovery is limited with 20 hours a year. We needed to bring him home, however our island doesn't provide the resources needed for him to receive optimal recovery. Since coming home he has not received speech and occupational therapy or physical therapy for his injuries at the rate he should. We would also like for Justin to have `oxygen therapy again, but Medicaid refuses to pay for those too (although we have see dramatic gains from the hours we've paid for out of pocket). We have tried to look for legal help but fell short because his friend who was driving was 18 at the time and her parents did not cover her either. He has lost not only the ability to move and think like he should, but he has lost all his friends. They have found it impossible to see their friend this way. This is more than what a mom want's to see her child go threw.
So, remembering his doctor's giving him only a slight recovery rate, we see a different light. He has hope. He believes in his recovery and he wants to walk again. We see him improving, but at a very slow rate. What has been a struggle for us are the finances. I am the sole provider, my medical cannot help and he is limited to resources.
My hope for Justin is to help him get back into our lives, by being more active. If he can walk again, then a major part of his life is possible. I just would like to see Justin at least have the chance to have some kind of normal life. I have faith that he could do a full recovery, but my goal is one thing at a time, so we focus on his walking. I would like to get him a handivan that can address his disability and so we can include him in more family activities instead of just being at home, due to lack of transportation. We would also like to get an electric chair if anyone would like to donate them. His therapists believe he can do it, but medical says no. His step-dad and I would also like to build him an exercise room and get equipment to help with his recovery. We feel that if we can have these things, that his recovery will look much brighter. It is also a struggle because I have finally started with finishing my Master's degree, so that financially I can afford his medical bills and caring for my family.
I am not one to ask, but the journey is long for my son and the hope is there. If go fund is a place to help the unfortunate, I kindly cry out my heart to you to please help my son have the opportunity to just live his life again. Family, prayer and faith is all we got and I believe if he has a chance to be included more, his success rate will improve. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening. Please help my son Justin with his recovery.
I have a 23-year-old son, named Justin Davis Namauu. At the young age of 19, Justin was involved in a motor vehicle accident. At the time, I was pregnant to his baby sister and waited her arrival. I was at full term. I received a call at about 12 midnight telling me of his accident. Justin was a passenger in a car, when his friend lost control of her vehicle. The only person not injured was able to call for help and reach out to his mom to find us. She died at the seen and injured both Justin and his friend badly. <3 We truly miss her <3. Justin sustained a traumatic brain injury leaving him in a comma for 8 months. He had sustained an injury that left him with a bleeding brain. They operated immediately. They said he would never recover from his injuries and gave him a 5% chance of surviving this accident.
Justin had a major injury to his head, his heart was working at a 40% rate, his blood pressure was extremely high, and his body temperature was at a steady 104 degrees. I didn't look good, but I never left his side. So many emotions. Having a baby and possibly losing my first baby. Doctor's basically said it was just a waiting game and I needed to consider my options. A week later they decided that they would try to see if he could breathe a little on his own, to see what his conditions were like. When they tried it, he took to breathing well. It was only for short periods, but the signs were favorable. Within minutes of the great news, my contractions started and that morning his healthy baby sister arrived. She has been by his side his entire recovery too.
Here's a little history about Justin. He is the eldest of my children and was a very intelligent young man. He has a brother and sister from my first relationship. His father was never in their lives, so Justin was basically the dad to his siblings. Justin is well liked and had a lot of friends growing up. He devoted a lot of time and love to them too. But Justin saw the struggle. He new how hard I worked and what my reasons were. He studied very hard and helped with his siblings. He reminded me often that he would never be like his dad and would work really hard so that someday he could take care of our family and me. While in the 5th grade Justin got hurt at a summer program. He sustained a dislocated hip and needed surgery immediately. I recalled Justin asking his anesthesiologist, what he job was. The doctor explained briefly and then he asked, how much money do you make? It was right then and there he knew what he wanted to do and declared to me that he will be a doctor. And he worked hard to get there. His passion made my passion grow, and at that same time I knew I needed to do more for my family. Before returning home to Molokai I applied to the University of Hawaii, Manoa for my Bachelors in Education.
In the 9th grade Justin was accepted into Kamehameha Schools, Kapalama (a school for Hawaiian children) and worked really hard to excel in his studies. When he graduated in 2010, Justin already had his college chosen and all his tuition covered. He had earned scholarships to cover all his expenses and started his bucket (not knowing her would never do what he wanted on that list), He attended his freshmen year in Portland Oregon and did great. He then decided to return to Hawaii because he was homesick. I gave him the ok, as long as he continued in college. He did his transfer, and got into the University of Hawaii at Maui campus. When moving home Justin attended school full-time, had two jobs, had an apartment of his own and owned his first vehicle. All at the age of 19. He was very independent and worked hard so I wouldn't struggle. Such a strong individual. My idol.
Then the accident happened. It is so hard to see him this way. All of his potential lost in the blink of an eye. All he had worked his whole life, gone. As Justin continues to recover we witness the miracles of God's work. Justin will be 3 year post recovery on October 28. He is now talking, singing, eating solid foods, and has a very happy attitude. He doesn't walk and his memory is not very clear, so it is our family’s job to get him there. We are his arms and legs, his brain and his voice. His contractures need lots of work too. He has moved home with our family but because Justin was only 19 at the time of the accident he had no medical coverage. My parents basically pulled out their retirement to get him oxygen therapy to speed up his recovery. He is also to young to collect Social Security. He lives on about $235 dollars a month for his disability. That goes just to his medical supplies. Medicaid covers him, but they don't support TBI recovery for young adults. We are not able to get him an electric chair because of where we live. There is no service provider that can provide maintenace, so medicaid says no. He is limited to only 20 hours of physical therapy a year, and anybody knows that the possibly of full recovery is limited with 20 hours a year. We needed to bring him home, however our island doesn't provide the resources needed for him to receive optimal recovery. Since coming home he has not received speech and occupational therapy or physical therapy for his injuries at the rate he should. We would also like for Justin to have `oxygen therapy again, but Medicaid refuses to pay for those too (although we have see dramatic gains from the hours we've paid for out of pocket). We have tried to look for legal help but fell short because his friend who was driving was 18 at the time and her parents did not cover her either. He has lost not only the ability to move and think like he should, but he has lost all his friends. They have found it impossible to see their friend this way. This is more than what a mom want's to see her child go threw.
So, remembering his doctor's giving him only a slight recovery rate, we see a different light. He has hope. He believes in his recovery and he wants to walk again. We see him improving, but at a very slow rate. What has been a struggle for us are the finances. I am the sole provider, my medical cannot help and he is limited to resources.
My hope for Justin is to help him get back into our lives, by being more active. If he can walk again, then a major part of his life is possible. I just would like to see Justin at least have the chance to have some kind of normal life. I have faith that he could do a full recovery, but my goal is one thing at a time, so we focus on his walking. I would like to get him a handivan that can address his disability and so we can include him in more family activities instead of just being at home, due to lack of transportation. We would also like to get an electric chair if anyone would like to donate them. His therapists believe he can do it, but medical says no. His step-dad and I would also like to build him an exercise room and get equipment to help with his recovery. We feel that if we can have these things, that his recovery will look much brighter. It is also a struggle because I have finally started with finishing my Master's degree, so that financially I can afford his medical bills and caring for my family.
I am not one to ask, but the journey is long for my son and the hope is there. If go fund is a place to help the unfortunate, I kindly cry out my heart to you to please help my son have the opportunity to just live his life again. Family, prayer and faith is all we got and I believe if he has a chance to be included more, his success rate will improve. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening. Please help my son Justin with his recovery.
Organizer
Tracy Ann Davis
Organizer
Kaunakakai, HI