Jace's Hospitalization

 I did post this info to social media, so I am just going to copy and paste here with some pictures for record keeping. 

Jace's fall occurred on Thursday, 3/12. 

3/14:I am supposed to be off social media for 2026 as you know, and I intend to get back off later. But I am going to make this a place of update for our Jacer and his current situation. It is easier to update the masses through social media and it's also one of the only ways I keep good records (unfortunately).

Many already know, but Jace is currently admitted at Primary Children's Medical Center. Thursday, Devin came home from work and called Jace up the stairs to give him instructions before we were to leave for a hockey game. He heard Jace collapse at the bottom of the stairs, but did not see it. He ran down there and Jace was completely unresponsive and would not wake. I came home shortly after and Mishell met me outside, panicked. I found Devin and Jace downstairs and Jace was still unresponsive. We could tell that he was breathing okay, but he would not come to. We called 911 and they arrived quickly to transport him to the hospital.

At ORMC (where I work), the team found that Jace had several obvious brain bleeds on CT, naming them a coup-contrecoup injury. He was quickly then life flighted to Primary Children's. Later MRI imaging showed he has a diffuse axonal brain injury (DAI) which is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in addition to at least 6 brain bleeds. The DAI injury is normally seen from things like high speed motor vehicle accidents or shaken baby syndrome. Why Jace suddenly collapsed is unknown, but it is believed that the bleeds and DAI are from the impact of his fall. Why he would sustain such serious injuries from a ground level fall is also unknown.

Jace will remain in the good hands of the professionals at Primary's until a good rehab plan is made for him. His injury has meant he is very sleepy and hard to rouse at times still. When he comes to, he is getting more and more oriented, but his short-term memory has been impacted. He needs frequent reminders about what happened and why he is where he is. He has said some hilarious things (like he is eagerly anticipating his grandmother bringing him a "spring robe", he continually insists he is at St Jude's Hospital in Rexburg, Idaho, and his nurse "Maddi" was most definitely named "Alice" according to him) but he is getting better about remembering his circumstances and what is going on as time passes. He will need aggressive physical and occupational therapy as he cannot sit, stand, or walk on his own currently.

We are devastated by his injuries and yet trying to remain hopeful for a good long-term recovery. We have had immense support-- our tribe is amazing. Thank you everyone who has reached out and supported us in so many ways. I feel pretty helpless as his mom to watch my darling kid, totally normal just two days ago, struggle with basic memory and tasks we take for granted every day. He turned 15 just two weeks ago and got his driver's permit. Now he can't even walk alone, let alone drive a car. Jace is the brightest, smartest, most giving and kind kid you will ever meet. I long ago learned to love him genuinely for who he is and not for who I once expected him to be. He is absolutely quirky and nerdy, but he does not need anyone's approval, which is one of my favorite things about him. I came home tonight to see the sourdough bread on the counter that he made just days ago. He plays the cello beautifully, he reads books and knows history like no one I know (in fact, he thought Lizzie and I were Russian KGB spies yesterday-- apparently he waxes conspiracy theorist when he has a TBI). He hugs and loves everyone he sees. He is the best kid I know and I am so proud he is my only son. I hope and pray that his personality will come back just as he was and that he will be able to regain all of his amazing skills and abilities, including his perfectionism with his always A+ grades.

I believe in the power of collective prayer. Please, if you are the praying type, join us in praying specifically for the healing of Jace's brain. I love him so much and my heart hurts to see him suffer. If you are not the praying type, send us good thoughts and energy, which I also believe in.

I will update here as I have time and as we see fit. Thank you to everyone for all your love and support; it has been deeply felt.

3/16: Real Miracles have occurred. Jace is healing. I fully acknowledge the injustice it is that some families never get the miracles they pray for and we do. My heart breaks for those who prayed just as fervently, but got different outcomes. In Jace's case- his rapid progress in the last few days can be nothing short of a miracle. I heard stories of his seminary classmates requesting to kneel and pray for him today in class and another story of the Presbyterians of Ogden praying for him too, along with so many others all over. It has been amazing to see the collective efforts on his behalf and we are so grateful.

Jace really woke up yesterday. One of my fears was that his personality would be different. That fear has quickly been laid to rest. He is the same quirky kid in there, albeit a bit more impulsive and with some short-term memory loss, but the core of who he is persists. He is impulsive enough he tried to get out of bed on his own on Saturday right after he arrived out of the ICU to the neuro trauma unit. He took a spill and hit his head again, earning himself some stitches, a trip to the CT scanner (luckily, unchanged- hallelujah), and a 24 hour a day sitter.

He has progressed rapidly cognitively and is fully intact, with perfect recall of everything prior to his accident. What he struggles with is what happened yesterday, or an hour ago, and asks repetitive questions about why he is here and what happened. The biggest issue we have is his mobility. He has progressed very quickly with this too, but is still a 2-person assist to get up, get to the bathroom, etc. With his impulsivity added to the assistance he needs, he has given a few of us some heart attacks here and there.

Our biggest need right now is to get Jace moved into an inpatient rehab unit. While the nursing and medical teams here have been nothing short of amazing, those who work in the medical world will die when I tell you that he has received about 40 minutes of therapy total over the course of 5 days and we have yet to see a case manager, despite my asking EVERY SINGLE DAY (and today every hour, on the hour). I want a plan and I want it now. I have taken matters into my own hands and hopefully we can get Jace transferred to a rehab unit, back home in Ogden, tomorrow. If you are the praying type, this specfic prayer would be wonderful- that all will work out for him to get to rehab tomorrow. This is crucial to the next phase of his recovery. He will get 3 hours of therapy a day in rehab, versus the almost none he is getting here. This is his biggest need and I think he will progress super rapidly when he gets appropriate and skilled therapy. His dad and I are doing the best we can, but we are certainly not as good as trained therapists.

Jace has had SO many visitors (and he loves them all- he asks for more visitors, which will be more easily accommodated in Ogden as well), a pet therapy visit today, and we continue to be completely loved and cared for by our commnunity with flowers, meals, teddy bears, blankets, balloons, cookies, diet cokes, visits, childcare help, etc. etc. etc. I am trying to keep a list of everyone who has visited or done kind things for us, and I am 3 pages in. You are all incredible and we are so blessed to have such a village.

3/17:

Off to Rehab we go!

We took [one of] my favorite intensivist's best advice that he often says in rounds: "Make them look presentable to themselves!" Jace showered for the first time, dressed in normal clothes, and has been up most of the day. And now the next step of his recovery begins. Rehab. He is progressing at a crazy rapid pace & I bet he busts out of there in no time too. Thanks for the continued amazing love and support. We are amazed and in awe.

Special shout out to @bridiforsgren for making rehab happen. We used our own case management skills, didn't we Brid? No need for help, we got this.

3/20:

Jace has been doing incredible in inpatient rehab. He has been transferred to ORMC Rehab, where he stays all the time (and so does one of us! He has to have a parent at the bedside at all times. Real MVP is Devin who is sleeping in a recliner next to him every night while I sleep in my bed ).

The team here has determined exactly what Jace's weaknesses are after his TBI and he gets 3+ hours a day of PT/OT/ST. He has left sided deficits and some memory issues still, but things are improving at a rapid pace. Our tentative goal is for discharge Monday or Tuesday after one week in rehab!

It has been so nice to have him close to home, working with such skilled therapists and the entire team that I largely know. The change of scenery has been nice for him too- and he has a bed that actually fits him! His 6'4" frame was just a tiny bit big for the beds at Primarys. Having him closer to home has meant more people can visit easily too and he lives for those visits. Thank you to so many who have made the effort to come and who have continued to show us love in so many ways. This isn't something we ever expected and we are still coming to terms with what our new normal may look like, but the visits, texts, gifts, meals, prayers, etc have all continued to mean everything to us.

3/23: Jace is home.

What a rollercoaster 12 days it's been.

I got a trauma page on my watch for my own son as we were on the way into the hospital, following the ambulance after Jace's initial collapse. is not something I ever expected to have happen....and I still had no idea what we were in for. Even after he took off on the life flight, I was relatively calm and thought they'd take care of his few brain bleeds at Primary's and we would be out in a few days and ready to help with our neighborhood food drive that Saturday. Joke was on me!

Because I had to send Jace's initial referral to ORMC for rehab myself, I accessed his records and read that he had been diagnosed with all of the following while at Primary's:

Traumatic injury of the head

subdural hematoma

Intraparenchymal hematoma of the brain

Right temporal bone fracture

pneumocephalus, traumatic

diffuse axonal brain injury (MRI image of this attached- I bet you can spot it-- this was his major injury, the brain shearing)

subarachnoid hematoma

We had only been told a few of these things, but to read them all was- overwhelming. I drove home one night from Primary's and sent a marco polo to my best friends just sobbing for 20 minutes. I believed then that our new normal for Jace would look very, very different.

Jace spent 3 days mostly unconscious, and he has little to no memory of those days. He then woke up, but had major mobility issues. The day before we got him to rehab, he was shuffling with major support from his dad to get to the bathroom. He could not walk.

With intensive rehab, Jace has improved at a rapid pace every single day. It has been incredible to watch. He started walking shortly after arriving to rehab and we increased his distance every day. Two days ago, I walked him to the ICU to visit my friend Jeremy (where he promptly sat down and took a nap at my desk while I chatted with Jer- don't worry, there were no patients on that side :)) Yesterday, he walked a mile outside with his therapist. Left sided deficits are mostly resolved. Today, he had a repeat CT and it was 100% normal. All bleeds have resolved, as has his bone fracture. He didn't have a repeat MRI- It would still show his DAI, but it is reassuring to know all of his other problems have resolved. So amazing.

While he has work ahead, we are so, so grateful for the outcome we have. I was reminded that just a few weeks ago in my own ICU, there was a patient who had his same diagnosis with quite a different outcome. I don't throw out the world miracle lightly, but I truly believe we have witnessed one.

One of the major reasons I wanted Jace transferred to ORMC Rehab versus staying at Primary Children's is because he would be under the care of our across the street neighbor, Dr. Sean Anderson, at ORMC Rehab. Sean is not only our neighbor, but he is Jace's youth leader at church. I asked Jace if he would want Sean to take care of him or to stay at Primary's and he didn't hesitate. He said he felt comfort knowing Sean would be his doctor because he knew him and would take special care of him. And he did. Along with his amazing team, Jace made incredible progress at rehab.

There will be some adjustments to Jace's life moving forward, and still a new normal, but we are committed to taking it one day at a time and helping him through whatever he needs, while thanking God for his incredible recovery. I feel so grateful.

Thank you again to all who have loved and supported us these past 12 days. Thank you isn't enough. But we mean it.