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Brain Injury

Put on life support after car crash

December 25, 2011

Sam Schmid was involved in car crash causIng a  brain aneurysm, among other life altering injuries requiring he be put on life-support. He underwent brain surgery to repair the aneurysm but doctors had little hope due to his lack of brain activity. This  raised the question of if his family will take him off life support. “They never approached me to say would I donate his organs,” said Susan Regan, Schmid’s mother. “The people that were surrounding us were just asking about Sam, his quality of life, what would Sam want if we had to come to a difficult decision.” His  MRI scan showed he still had  hope of survival, that his doctors recommended keeping him alive for one more week. Within that week, Schmid shocked doctors by following commands to hold up two fingers. “It may not seem like a lot to you,” Spetzler said. “It’s an incredible loop to show brain ability. That was like fireworks going off.” Schmid has been working hard everyday  in physical rehabilitation. Doctors state he will need  physical therapy, speech therapy and cognitive therapy to improve his walking, talking, and memory.   His recovery so far as amazing but his doctors cannot make any predictions of what “normal” will ultimately be for him. His brother, John, will relocate to  so Schmid can continue rehabilitation on an out-patient basis. Schmid was a business major and  college coach prior to this crash. He would like to return  to the life he had 2-months before the car accident. “I see myself leaving the house, going to school, work, basic things like that,” Schmid said. “I just want my life to be what it used to be.”

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