May 3, 2024

Braxton is an adventurous young man with tons of love for his friends and family. As you can tell from these pictures, he is one of those kids that lives life to the fullest. He loves the outdoors, riding, surfing, fishing, and spending time with his friends and family.

On December 24th, Braxton was involved in a serious dirt bike accident. He was airlifted to the pediatric ICU. Braxton was on life support, and it was unknown if he would regain consciousness let alone survive his injuries. He spent 25 days in ICU and had numerous surgeries, several broken bones including both femurs, brain surgery due to a pseudoaneurysm, collapsed lung, and a severe traumatic brain injury. As if that wasn’t enough, Braxton also battled pneumonia, a blood clot, infections in his bloodstream and received blood transfusions. On January 19th, Braxton was in a minimally conscious state and flown to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, one of the best neurorehabilitation centers in the U.S.

​The first goal at Shepherd Center was to get Braxton to regain consciousness. On January 30th, he was deemed clinically emerged, in other words, could stay at Shepherd Center and start neurorehabilitation. Braxton’s family felt a little bit of relief that he could stay at Shepherd Center and give him the best chance at recovery. He had physical, occupational and speech therapy six days a week. Rehabilitation was a grueling, and uphill battle. He had several setbacks including another collapsed lung. Braxton learned how to walk, talk, and eat all over again. While his family was so grateful that Braxton was progressing, it was still unknown if Braxton would remember who they were or had the same personality. During an occupational therapy session on February 22nd, Braxton started spontaneously reading words around the room out loud. He read his therapist’s name badge, and random medical signs hanging on the walls. Then Braxton asked “Is this real?” To which his therapist replied “Yes, this is real.” Braxton then said “That’s tragic.” Which was a line Braxton said all the time before the accident. Braxton then turned towards Jennifer and said “My mom.” With tears running down Jennifer’s face, she knew that her son was back.

Braxton was discharged from inpatient rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center hospital on March 12th. Braxton and Jennifer are still in Atlanta doing outpatient therapy at Shepherd Pathways. As hard as it was to continue to keep the family apart, Ryan and Jennifer decided it was best for Braxton and Jennifer to stay in Atlanta for outpatient therapy to give him the best chance for recovery.

From day one, Braxton’s doctors told his family that this would be a marathon, not a sprint. A roller coaster filled with ups and downs. Braxton’s recovery has and will continue to be a long and arduous journey. One thing is for certain, Braxton has never given up. Even on his toughest days, he powers through the pain and frustration and gives 100% in rehabilitation. He knows that God has a plan for him and continues to stay positive throughout his recovery..