Medicine That Touched My World

Chris Wilson had a dirt bike wreck in July 2004 that left him with a severe brain injury. A family man and a deputy sheriff for 10 years, Chris, determined to get back to his life, worked hard at rehab with help from the professionals at UAB's Spain Rehabilitation Center.

Watch Chris Wilson's Story

Life Before the Accident
The Accident
Life-saving Treatment
Road to Recovery
First Words
Back-to-Work
Returning Home
A Promising Future

Life Before the Accident

Chris Wilson, a physically active man in his early 30s, didn't let anything slow him down - until he sustained a life-threatening brain injury in a dirt bike accident in 2004.

A Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy for over 10 years, Chris provided physical training for newly hired police and deputies. In the past, he had been on his college track team, and in the army's 20th Special Forces Group Airborne, "I jumped out of planes for a living," he quips.

Chris and his wife Angela, a nurse, had been married almost nine years, had a three-year-old son and a second son on the way at the time of the accident. In this interview with Chris, his wife and some of his therapists from UAB's Spain Rehabilitation Center, we unfold the story of an accident that changed his life, and the teamwork that led him on the road to recovery.

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The Accident

CHRIS WILSON: "When I left the house that day, I never expected I would wind up in a hospital clinging to life. I don't remember the wreck and I don't want to.

I remember conducting my physical training class that day. I went riding off road with a friend after work. My friend didn't bring his helmet and I offered him mine, but he wouldn't wear it. So I said, 'If you're not wearing one, I'm not wearing one.' Famous last words.

My buddy saw the whole thing - he said I wasn't going that fast but I must have hit a rut - the bike stopped and I went over the handlebars. He thought I'd pop right back up but I didn't. I had landed on hard compact dirt."

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Life-saving Treatment

CHRIS WILSON: "I was airlifted to UAB - without the care I got there I wouldn't be here today. I had a fractured neck, a fractured back and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). My brain was bleeding and swelling. I had to be placed on a ventilator and had to be tube fed. My wife was pregnant at the time and the folks at UAB also took care of her needs."

ANGELA WILSON: "Chris didn't open his eyes for one week and he was in the ICU for 10 days."

CHRIS WILSON: "At one point, my condition was so critical that my priest came and performed my last rites."

ANGELA WILSON: "Chris was on the step-down unit for three to four days. He was in inpatient rehab at Spain for four or five weeks. After that, he had about six weeks of outpatient rehab at Spain."

CHRIS WILSON: "I'm a very physical person and the biggest frustration for me has been dealing with the physical stuff; being a little bit slower on my left side than on my right side. Now I know how a stroke victim feels."

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The Road to Recovery

KATHY PINION,UAB INPATIENT PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSISTANT:
"Our focus was to increase Chris' mobility and strength. We worked on walking, getting in and out of the bed and the wheelchair, then getting up and down steps. We improved his balance with activities like batting a balloon and walking around and over obstacles. We also focused on making him more aware of his left side."

CHRIS SMITH, UAB INPATIENT OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST:
"At first Chris, like many TBI patients, got frustrated over simple tasks, so we worked on things like sorting a deck of cards. Also, his arms, legs and other parts of the body worked fine, but he couldn't tell them what to do. We helped him learn to live independently - dressing and feeding himself - that increases self-esteem. We also worked on his 'executive functioning' skills, such as doing basic math problems, making change and managing a checking account."

ANGELA WILSON:
"One very helpful thing about Spain was that they allowed whomever I wanted to stay with Chris at night - it took a big load off me. Someone from the sheriff's department stayed with him every night.

The therapists always made us feel our situation was the most important thing occurring at that time; they were extremely helpful and informative. The doctors, nurses and therapists had a team meeting each week to discuss Chris' needs and progress."

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First Words

CHRIS WILSON: "Jamie and Suzanne in speech rehab helped me more than I can say, doing brainteasers and stuff because I was a little slow mentally. And I developed what is called mutism, where I didn't speak."

JAMIE WADE, UAB SPEECH THERAPIST:
"I worked the Saturday Chris started talking. It was his birthday and he asked for a candy bar - his mom was so excited. He answered basic questions on the phone. Often we can get TBI patients with akinetic mutism to talk on the phone first because some aspects of phone conversations are automatic. We later worked on the social rules of language, which TBI patients often have to relearn, such as taking turns talking with someone, eye contact, not getting in someone's face - Chris had become a 'close talker,' like the character on an episode of the TV comedy Seinfeld who had no concept of personal space."

Akinetic mutism is a state in which a person is unspeaking (mute) and unmoving (akinetic). A person with akinetic mutism has sleep-waking cycles but, when apparently awake, with eyes open, lies mute, immobile and unresponsive. Akinetic mutism is often due to damage to the frontal lobes of the brain.

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Back-to-Work

CHRIS WILSON: "My speech therapists created scenarios that would place me back in the job setting as sheriff's deputy - questioning people and trying to find evidence of a crime."

JAMIE WADE: "We simulated a situation Chris would experience on the job: our office staff reported a missing child. This helped us test his ability to focus and ask appropriate questions. For his 'final exam,' Chris taught a self-defense class to some therapists. It tested his memory and ability to answer questions and other things he had to relearn."

JAMIE WADE: "Today, Chris is back at work full time and he came by recently to show us the new baby. He wants to start a support group for other TBI patients. While here for his own treatment, he mentored and encouraged a younger guy who was struggling."

CHRIS WILSON: "I don't think I'll ever look at a helicopter or ambulance again without thinking of UAB and what they did for me and my life and my family. I'm very thankful for UAB's Level I Trauma Center because without the doctors and nurses and their experience I wouldn't be here today."

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Returning Home

CHRIS WILSON: "As I was nearing getting out of the hospital, all my thoughts changed from my health to my family - playing ball with my three-year-old son Wyatt and being daddy were the focus of my recovery. And, with my wife being pregnant I was looking forward to meeting my new son. Colin being born, being healthy, was the best thing that has happened since I got home."

KATHY PINION: "Chris was very motivated with his therapy. He had goals to get home, so he worked hard and pushed himself to achieve."

CHRIS SMITH: "We helped Chris' family and friends to realize that his personality was different than before the accident; this gave them time to anticipate the kind of help he would need at home."

ANGELA WILSON: "Chris' psychologist, Dr. Thomas Novak, has been a huge help in understanding Chris and the changes since his accident. If something like this accident happened again, I would choose for a family or friend to be treated at UAB."

CHRIS SMITH: "Chris' strong determination to get back to where he was before helped his recovery a great deal."

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A Promising Future

CHRIS WILSON: "With UAB, I was able to return to work in a relatively short amount of time and try to live a normal life. I'm still recovering, but I feel I'm eventually going to be back 100 percent. My prayers were answered because I got to go home and be with my sons and my wife. I'm very thankful for the people at UAB for giving me the opportunity to go home and hold my wife in my arms."

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