Jack Fletcher’s fight: A life changes in the blink of an eye

On the Web

• Read updates on Fletcher’s progress at www.facebook.com/prayingforjackfletcher

• Read a May 28 Columbian story about Jack Fletcher’s success in the Clark County high school fire cadet program at http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/may/28/cadet-firefighting-training-brush-prairie/

Learn more

• The Center on Brain Injury Research and Training at University of Oregon at http://cbirt.org/

• The Brain Injury Association of America at www.biausa.org/

You can help

Fundraiser for Jack Fletcher’s medical expenses

• When: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 1.

• Where: Mill Creek Pub, 1710 S.W. Ninth Ave., Suite 101, Battle Ground.

• Mill Creek phone: 360-723-5223.

Jack Fletcher’s life changed in an instant on the afternoon of July 30.

Just beginning a promising career as a firefighter, the 18-year-old Prairie High School graduate was driving home to Battle Ground from Central Oregon to surprise his family for a short visit. He’d finished a training session and was cleared to begin fighting fires with Crook County Fire & Rescue in Prineville, Ore. The years ahead held nothing but promise for the former captain of the Clark County Fire & Rescue cadet program.

Then a Ford pickup crossed the center line on Highway 26 near Brightwood, Ore., crashing head-on into Fletcher’s Subaru wagon.

Five weeks after the crash, the driver, Trevor Hughes, 26, of Rhododendron, Ore., turned himself in to the Oregon State Police’s Portland office Thursday and was taken to the Clackamas County Jail on suspicion of second- and third-degree assault and driving under the influence.

Study a photo of Fletcher’s car after the crash, and it’s a miracle he survived. The front half of the car was crushed. So was Fletcher.

He was extricated by the Hoodland Fire Department in nearby Welches, then taken by Life Flight to OHSU Hospital with critical injuries.

The fight for his life had begun.

“It’s the phone call you dread,” said his mom, Kelly Fletcher, remembering that day more than five weeks ago.

Kelly and John Fletcher rushed to OHSU.

The first hours were critical. First, his life functions had to be stabilized.

“I was counting the hours,” Kelly said. “The first 24 hours. Then 48 hours. Then 72 hours.”

All were critical milestones.

“When he reached 73 hours after the accident, I was so relieved,” Kelly said. She recalls thinking, “I think he’s going to make it.”

But he still was unconscious.

Six days after the crash, a night nurse searched the hospital to find Fletcher’s sleeping parents.

“She came to tell us Jack woke up,” Kelly said. “He opened his eyes.”

But he had suffered a traumatic brain injury, also known as a TBI. He couldn’t talk. TBI cases vary wildly, depending on the severity of the injury and what part of the brain is injured.

Later, when a doctor asked Fletcher to move his toe, he did. His ability to respond purposefully was a good sign.

Eventually, he regained the ability to speak. But his speech is slow. Halted.

His family counts it as good luck that Fletcher is left-handed; his right hand was injured.

As he progressed, Fletcher was moved from unit to unit and then to different hospitals.

Immediately after the crash, he was taken to OHSU Hospital’s emergency department, then was moved to the hospital’s ICU trauma unit, followed by the acute trauma ward.

Then he was moved to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, where Dr. Anna Kuang performed a 12-hour surgery to repair multiple fractures on the right side of his face.

After the surgery, he was moved to Doernbecher’s pediatric ICU, followed by the hospital’s intermediate ward.

On Aug. 27, he was transferred to the inpatient trauma and rehabilitation floor at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel. He is expected to be released in three or four weeks, depending on his progress.

“He’ll be involved in intensive therapies throughout his stay,” said Dr. Carrie Jones, a traumatic brain injury specialist. “It’s little gains every day that we’re seeing in all of his therapies. That is the most encouraging thing, that he’s making progress day to day. Not one big jump, but small changes.”

When he’s discharged, he’ll continue to do therapies. He’ll go to an outpatient therapy facility near the family’s home, Jones said.

With effort and help, Fletcher is relearning how to walk, slowly.

“It’s not uncommon after a brain injury that gross motor movements such as walking come back first, then the cognitive or thinking piece being slower to return,” Jones said. “He is working on balance, endurance and walking in physical therapy. He’s working on his daily living activities in occupational therapy like grooming, getting dressed, bathing. Learning how to do all of those things again.”

Through all of the moves to various units and hospitals, John, Kelly and their daughter, Emma, 21, have taken turns staying at his side.

“Normally, we go to the beach for holiday,” John said. “This year, we went to a hotel near OHSU.”

“It’s good to have family near,” Kelly said, “because Jack’s confused when he wakes up.”

Randall has space in Fletcher’s room for a family member to sleep. It has extra storage for them to bring essentials from home.

“Obviously, Jack has a very involved, supportive family,” Jones said. “We’ll do training with them so they’ll be ready to help him transition to home when appropriate. He’ll need around-the-clock supervision. How much assistance he’ll need with everyday activities, I don’t know yet because he’s making such good progress.”

Wednesday night, exactly five weeks after the crash, John, Kelly and Emma Fletcher gathered in his quiet, private room at Randall. Wrapped in an afghan crocheted by his grandmother, Maureen Miller, he was cocooned in a bed wrapped with sturdy netting to prevent him from falling out.

His mom greeted him. He turned over, held out his hand and said sleepily, “I love you, Mom.”

She reached for his hand and said, “I love you, too, Jack.”

Community support

Within hours of the crash, close friends gathered to support the Fletchers. They included Aaron Huntington, Jack Fletcher’s supervisor in the Clark County fire cadet program.

“We sat with them for a brief period. Not to be invasive,” Huntington said. “We sat with them and prayed with them. Told them we were there for whatever they needed.”

One of the first to arrive was Kelly’s friend Colleen Greenen. She and Kelly have been friends since they were cheerleaders decades ago at Fort Vancouver High School.

Eight years ago, Colleen’s son, Ryan Greenen, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a sledding accident. Colleen and her husband, Kent Greenen, knew exactly what the Fletchers would experience.

They knew friends would be calling and asking for updates on Jack’s progress. And they would want to help.

The Greenens set up a Facebook page, “Praying for Jack Fletcher.” Colleen visits the hospital often, gets a Jack update and posts it online.

“At first, we were reluctant,” John said. “But our friends told us people want to help. It doesn’t come natural.”

Originally from New Zealand, John Fletcher’s family is scattered throughout New Zealand and Australia and stays connected with the Facebook page. John’s niece in Australia started the idea of “coffee with Jack.” It’s a way for people to give the price of a cup of coffee toward Jack’s medical expenses.

For John, Kelly and Emma Fletcher, the hours waiting at the hospital turned into days. Then weeks. Little time has been spent at home.

Huntington rallied the fire cadets for a yard work party at the family’s home.

After a grueling day at the hospital, Kelly Fletcher foraged through the cupboards late one night for dinner. The cupboards were bare, so they ate graham crackers.

Kathi Dobbins, the mother of Fletcher’s best friend, Craig Dobbins, organized friends to deliver homemade dinners for the family.

Various fundraisers are being planned by family and friends.

Road to recovery

Slowly, the family is learning the new normal: days and nights spent at the hospital. Both parents have put their work on hold. John Fletcher owns a painting company, but he says his employees have stepped in to help.

Three months before her son’s crash, Kelly Fletcher had re-entered the workforce after earning her pharmacy technician certification. But now Jack is her priority,she said.

Outside his hospital door, Jack Fletcher’s therapy schedule is posted: speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, art therapy.

Recovery depends upon severity, but there is a general course patients typically follow, said Jones, the traumatic brain injury specialist. They start to become more responsive. Some pass through an agitated phase. Then their activities and responses become more purposeful and less confused.

Fletcher bypassed the agitated stage and went straight to sweet, she said. He says “I love you” to everyone who enters his room.

Moments of beauty

A volunteer at Randall played her guitar and sang to Fletcher. Before the crash, he played guitar. The music resonated with him. He sat up, and even though his mouth is held shut after the surgery, he sang along, moving his torso to the music, his head slightly uplifted. His mom captured the moment as a video on her smartphone.

It was a glimpse of who Fletcher was, and who he may be again.

The volunteer left her guitar in Jack’s room. It’s propped in a corner, waiting for him to play music again.

“He was the No. 1 student for us,” Huntington said of his fire cadet student. “Jack is an old soul. He is very mature for his age, which got him the chief position in the rigorous cadet program. It’s not too often to see a student that mature. Jack entered the cadet program as almost a full-grown adult. A person who knew where he wanted to go and where he wanted to be. He was one I had handpicked to become a career firefighter. He has some hurdles to cross. I hope his recovery is quick, and he’s still able to reach out and capture his dreams.”

The Fletcher family has held onto their faith through this tragedy.

“Jack is one of his (God’s) No. 1 fans,” Kelly Fletcher said, gesturing upward. “If we didn’t believe in miracles before, we sure believe in them now.”

Shortly after the crash, the sign at the Brush Prairie General Store near the Fletchers’ home read: “Get well soon Jack Fletcher. We’re prayin 4U.”