Help Jesse Walk Again

Hello my name is Lisa and I am writing on the behalf of my son Jesse who was struck by a vehicle almost 4 years ago, losing his ability to walk. Now at 16 he’s been able to make incredible strides towards mobility. The journey has been long but we are determined. Now, our family is hoping to get him two a specialized rehab program in Kentucky that can’t be found in Canada. Along with Jesse's doctors, we believe it’s the best chance Jesse has to walk again.

Our Story

It was an overcast Friday afternoon on September 13, 2019, the first week of school had just wrapped up and 12 year old Jesse was walking back to our family home in Langley. Witnesses say a blue pathfinder crossed the white line and struck Jesse. He was thrown fifteen feet and landed in the ditch area that is covered in grass and small evergreen trees, the left side of his face taking the initial impact. Jesse was semi-conscious and rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital.

The doctors did an assessment to find an immense amount of injuries: broken jaw, shattered eye socket, permanent left eye damage, head injury, injured carotid artery, broken arm, bruised kidney, fractured neck, broken back, and leaking spinal fluid. It took three days for symptoms to reveal Jesse was no longer moving his legs and over the next few days, doctors confirmed that they didn’t believe he would ever walk again.

Jesse was devastated. It took him time to accept the prognosis and work towards moving on but Jesse was determined to prove his medical team wrong and insisted that he would walk again, someday.

Over the past three years, Jesse has shown incredible progress in his movement during therapy sessions. During the latest visit in April of 2022, I showed the doctors a video of Jesse doing “sit to stands” in the pool with very little assistance.

When they saw this video, the doctors and therapists were very excited and left the room to talk. When they returned to the room, they recommended that Jesse attend a physio program in Louisville, Kentucky. It has been operating for many years with numerous success stories of people with spinal cord injuries regaining mobility. Jesse has been accepted to the program but very much in need of support to get there.

As a family, we just want Jesse to be happy and get as far as he can in his recovery. It would be great to see him independent and back to having freedom in the little things like getting out of bed, showering, etc. Jesse’s dream is to get back his independence and back to the things he loved. His plan is a 30-day hiking trip when he can walk again.

Thanks in advance for your time to hear our story and thank you to those who are helping us get Jesse back to himself.

FAQ

What is the program that you are going to? Can you include the link?

The Kosair for Kids Center for Pediatric NeuroRecovery is a spinal cord injury research center for kids and teens. Through extensive research, their recovery-based therapies promote movement below the level of injury. The main focus is on retraining the nervous system at every stage of recovery so kids can get back to moving.

https://victoryoverparalysis.org/pediatrics-about-us/

What is the money going to?

Three months of attending the program and includes regular day-to-day support for Lisa and Jesse who will be living in the Ronald McDonald House near the program facility.