Jerrod Haddock is headed home after making amazing progress in the PMRU.
On August 1st, Jerrod was struck by a vehicle while stopped at an intersection on a motorcycle. He suffered a stroke, fractured vertebrae and broke both femurs. On August 16th, he was admitted to Bethany Children’s after being released from a local hospital. Jerrod’s dad, Steve, says, “He had a trach and feeding tube. He was on 100% assistance for everything. He was minimally responsive to any stimuli and would occasionally open his eyes.”
The family had heard excellent things about Bethany Children’s and had been told that they were lucky Jerrod was able to be admitted. But they were still unsure of what, if any, progress he would make.
Steve documented Jerrod’s progress on his Facebook page, and Jerrod received a huge outpouring of support from Cross Country teammates and others at his school, Deer Creek High School, and the community.
“He has had thousands of people of many faiths, across four different continents, praying and fasting for his recovery. The prayers of so many faithful people have been heard and answered by a merciful God. We have witnessed miracle after miracle in his recovery,” says Steve.
Physical Therapist Melanie Milbourn says, “Jerrod has made a tremendous recovery in his time at Bethany Children’s. Jerrod is very motivated and such a hard worker. From the beginning, he knew what his goals were and was always pushing to meet them. Jerrod was a lot of fun to work with in therapy. We were able to challenge him with higher level activities and he always worked hard with a little humor and orneriness mixed in.”
Jerrod has worked hard with therapies and is now walking on his own, gaining strength and coordination and catching up on schoolwork.
Steve admits that Jerrod’s goal from the beginning was to get back home to family and friends. “Getting him back to his familiar surroundings and having the restrictions of how many can visit him lifted will be a great boost to his spirit,” Steve says. The family has a celebration planned for Jerrod’s return.
The family says Jerrod’s care at Bethany Children’s has been exceptional. “The nurses and the therapists have been so nice, helpful, and invested in his recovery. It is amazing the difference in attitude between the care he received here and what he received previously. The main difference is the attitude of those that were caring for him,” Steve says. “They have a complete service attitude. They not only served Jerrod, but were always looking for ways to help and serve the rest of the family. They are what makes this place so awesome!”
Melanie and the rest of Jerrod’s team is excited that he is headed home. “We are so proud of Jerrod and all that he has overcome and know that he is going to continue to do amazing things when he goes home!”
Congratulations to Jerrod on all of his hard work and determination. We know he will thrive at home with his family!