"Apparently, people like Sonny are quite rare...like we didn't all know that many years ago, right? But seriously, here are some stats for you...
1. Of accident survivors like Sonny, with the degree pf brain injury he experienced, only 10% come out of their initial coma. (We do not use the word "victim"...Personally I believe in the power of words and this is a very dis-empowering one denoting passivity and weakness. Sonny, "weak and passive"? Um...no. Sonny is a survivor, not a victim.)
2. Of that 10%, less than 1% become interactive and capable of basic functions such ass breathing without ventilator assistance, chewing and swallowing food, or speech.
3. The majority of those survivors experience only minimal improvement, usually remaining in a somewhat constant state without large degrees of noticeable progress.
So, what does all of this mean? Here's the math:
4. There are 1.5 million reported case of traumatic brain injury in the U.S. each year, with roughly 85,000 resulting in long-term disability (that's almost 6% of all brain injuries!).
5. Of those 85,000, adjusting for major, moderate, and minor degrees of the assumption is that fewer than 1,000 people per year experience a brain injury similar in severity to Sonny's and even wake up.
6. Consequently, there is very little compiled data regarding those survivor's prognosis and recovery patterns, simply because they are such a small population!
That all being said, I'll go back to Sonny's massage and range of motion exercises. (Are you still with me? There's a prize at the end for anyone who reads this entire post!) Being aware of these numbers might seem staggering...and indeed, sometimes we feel like we are groping in the dark with not much direction. So, drawing on human ingenuity, the powers of the universe, prayer, positive thinking, and a fair amount of chocolate, we have persisted in learning all we can and will continue to seek out any and all resources that will help us to participate in Sonny's recovery."
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