Hope TV-The Boys Room

Monday, May 9th began as a typical day for 12-year-old Bradley Reimer...so everyone thought. He had made normal, random sounds during an afternoon special education class, but while he was in the process of changing rooms, he suddenly began speaking real words. The improvement was so remarkable, special education coordinator DeLisa Manley came out of her office to see if what she was hearing was really true.

"It was so exciting. I was literally jumping up and down," Manley said.

Bradley's words became sentences, and it wasn't long afterward that he was counting to thirty, singing his ABC's and calling out the names of caretakers who'd been around him during the year he has been a patient at The Children's Center in Bethany, Oklahoma. For the first time since he first arrived in a near-coma-like condition following a car accident in 2009, the Kansas boy who had suffered a traumatic brain injury, in a real sense, came out of his shell.




"He said, 'Hi Bryan, how are you doing?' I said, 'good.' He (Bradley) was like, 'I'm doing wonderful!'" said Bryan Hansen, a patient activity aide at the Center, who was pleasantly surprised when the boy knew his name.

Bradley's experience is definitely unique, according to experts at the Center who frequently see patients with traumatic brain injuries.

"We know spontaneous recovery happens. Typically in a brain injury it happens earlier on. I call it a miracle," said Heather Jarvis, Bradley's speech-language pathologist.

"The Boys Room," features Bradley and other boys who live in Unit 9, or "Funway Park," which is part of a cutting-edge "neighborhood" concept in healthcare. Neighborhoods group children of similar age, physical and cognitive abilities with a consistent, designated healthcare team to provide a multidisciplinary approach. The concept is designed to challenge and encourage patients to maximize their potential.

"The Boys Room" video was almost complete before Bradley's dramatic recovery occurred because the boy had already been making substantial progress during physical rehabilitation. The story has been revised to include the latest turn of events.

"This gives you hope to not give up on someone," Jarvis said.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• The Children's Center
• Bethany
• Oklahoma
• Non-Profit Hospital
• Complex Medical Disabilities
• The Boys Room