Johnson family grateful for care after son suffers devastating brain injury

Being young and having the determination to recover from a devastating brain injury is as integral to a healthy recovery as having the care and treatment of a specially trained rehabilitation team supporting the patient and helping them to regain their independence.

The rehabilitation and speech therapy professionals of the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) played an important role in helping 27-year-old Jordan Johnson as he worked toward recovery from a brain injury he received in a motor vehicle collision.

Jordan was a patient at an area hospital that offers a brain injury program and was transferred to the Brantford General in May in order to have direct access to the specialized rehabilitation and speech therapy programs.

Jordan’s mother, Valerie Johnson said Jordan experienced his injury in early April 2017. The right side of his brain suffered the trauma, leaving the left side of his body weak and causing Jordan to have difficulty with short-term memory.

When he arrived at the Brantford General, Jordan was bed-ridden and could barely move. He couldn’t speak and his swallowing impulse was also compromised so he had a feeding tube for several weeks.

Valerie said Jordan has recovered the ability to speak, but he still has some difficulty having full conversations.

“From what I’ve learned, due to aphasia, Jordan’s brain has to rewire itself,” said Valerie.

Aphasia is a disorder caused by a severe brain injury such as trauma or stroke, often leaving its victims with a frustrating inability to read, write or verbally communicate their thoughts.

Heather Hosten was the speech-language pathologist assigned to work with Jordan. The main part of her role was to determine what parts of Jordan’s brain were working most effectively and then discover practical ways to leverage positive results from them or to re-route around the parts of his brain that still suffered impairment.

Valerie said even months after he was injured, Jordan mostly speaks in one-word responses, but with Heather’s help, they’ve figured out different ways to help him greatly improve.

“Jordan loves music,” said Valerie. “So we would play music to him and he would mouth the words. He was putting on concerts.”

Jordan, the youngest patient on the seventh floor where he was admitted, worked diligently with the rehabilitation team at the Brantford General for ten weeks, during which time Valerie said she and the family members who were always with Jordan could see that he made substantial progress.

“I attribute it directly to the effectiveness of the physiotherapy he received,” said Valerie.

The Brant Community Healthcare System continues a patient’s therapy throughout the weekend by providing a physiotherapist assistant to patients and their families. Valerie said that little bit of extra rehabilitation made a huge difference for Jordan.

Physiotherapists were eventually able to get Jordan up and out of bed regularly and started him walking with assistance or pushing his wheelchair. Due to his injuries, Jordan still couldn’t get out of bed by himself, and an assisted lifting device was needed to help him into an upright position. Jordan’s mother was eventually able to operate the lift equipment herself, which enabled her to help Jordan out of bed and to a commode or to take a shower and then back to bed.

Valerie said the staff there really understood how to motivate Jordan.

“I know he needed more of a push,” she said. “And the staff knew exactly how to get him to do the things he needed to do.”

As a result of his progress, Jordan had improved to the point where he was moved to the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit after just a few weeks on the seventh floor.

Valerie said staff in the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit worked diligently with Jordan with an eye towards regaining his independence, and while everyone who cared for him played a vital role, the family recognized OTA/PTA Sandy Cartmel and Erika Bevaart, and physiotherapist Jillian Giacinti for how well they worked with Jordan.

“Those ladies were great, but all the staff on the unit were important to help Jordan,” said Valerie.

Jordan’s younger sister, Jheri, said though Jordan doesn’t remember a lot from his time as a patient at the Brantford General due to his memory loss, their whole family could see that the quality of care delivered by all his healthcare providers has helped to make an enormously positive impact on Jordan’s recovery.

“The most important part is that the staff really took their time with Jordan, and they wanted to see him succeed. We are so grateful for the care they provided” said Jheri.

One year later, Jordan and his parents returned to the Brantford General to greet and thank Jordan’s caregivers in the C2 Rehabilitation Gym. A lot has changed in that time.

Jordan still has some lingering issues with short-term memory loss and depth perception, but his mobility is greatly improved to the point where he now enjoys fishing and hiking with his family and friends.

“We just got back from a two-hour hike this morning,” said Valerie. “And this afternoon we’re heading out to walk the Hamilton Escarpment stairs.”

“I took him golfing again last week,” Jordan’s father, Dave said proudly. “Jordan’s got his swing down to the point where he can now hit a ball at least 100 yards. That’s amazing after where we were a year ago.”

As the Johnson family knows first-hand, when a health crisis or emergency affects you or a loved one, Brant Community Healthcare System is here to provide exceptional, professional and compassionate care in your time of need.

Behind each success of the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) Foundation is the generosity of our community, our donors and volunteers. This continued commitment has enabled us to put our patients first by helping us to provide the right equipment, at the right time, when it matters most.

Now is the time to make a difference, please consider making a gift today that is meaningful to you, and support a strong healthcare system for our community.

Your continued support plays an important part in allowing us to provide quality patient care. Thank you!