Critically injured in July, Jack’s back at fire station

Aug. 27: Jack transfers to the inpatient trauma and rehabilitation floor at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland. Intense therapy sessions begin.

Sept. 11: With the removal of more than 100 rubber bands that were holding his mouth shut, Jack has his first puréed food: Cream of Wheat, custard and yogurt with raspberry purée.

Sept. 27: Released from hospital, Jack returns home to begin months of outpatient therapy. Jack rides last leg of journey home in a fire truck.

December: Jack begins volunteering at fire stations for Clark County Fire & Rescue.

March 27: Driver of the F-150, Trevor Earl Hughes, is sentenced to three years in prison for third-degree assault and drunken driving in connection with the crash. Jack tells Hughes he forgives him.

April 12: Jack runs the Blooms to Brews 10K Run in Woodland with his buddy, Jode DeKlerk. They finish in 55 minutes, 11 seconds, placing 19th and 20th.

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Jack Fletcher is the “Comeback Kid.”

Six weeks after graduating from Prairie High School, he was pursuing his dream of becoming a career firefighter when a drunken driver plowed into his car. In critical condition, Fletcher was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to OHSU Hospital in Portland.

Jack’s body was broken. He was unconscious. Doctors were unsure whether he’d make it. Each hour he survived was a milestone.

“We couldn’t even function at the start,” said Jack’s dad, John. “We were just hunkering down. If we’d lost him, we would be worthless.”

Six days later, Jack woke up.

He had lost the sight in his right eye. On his right hand, he’d lost his pinky finger and half of his thumb.

He had multiple fractures on his face and his right arm. To repair his facial fractures, he underwent a 12-hour surgery that included immobilizing his jaw with more than 100 bands.

The most severe damage — traumatic brain injury — had taken away his speech and his ability to walk.

But he was alive. The tow truck driver who hauled away Jack’s pulverized Subaru said he was astounded that Jack had survived, John said.

Although the fire cadet and rugby player was accustomed to physical challenges, Jack faced his toughest one yet.

Bolstered by the support of his dad, mom, Kelly; sister, Emma; and many friends, Jack fought his way back.

Since Jack’s homecoming from the hospital in September, Kelly has driven her son to Beaverton, Ore., three times a week for long sessions of physical, occupational and speech therapy. He had to learn to talk and walk again. By October, he and his physical therapist raced along a clinic corridor on rolling chairs. Jack won.

Jack still has some facial scars. His most serious injury — his brain injury –didn’t leave a visible scar, but has impacted his life the most.

“My memory. I’ve struggled since my accident,” Jack said.

Return to fire stations

Jack’s body may have been crushed, but his dream to become a firefighter wasn’t.

In high school, he was the top student — the chief — of the Clark County Fire & Rescue’s cadet program. He’d been in a student firefighter program in Prineville, Ore., for only six weeks when the crash occurred.

“In the hospital, I was doubting I could ever be a firefighter again,” Jack said. “But the best thing in the whole wide world is a firehouse.”

Not long after being released from the hospital, he asked his mom to drive him to Clark County Fire & Rescue Station 26 in Dollars Corner, where he had spent two years as a cadet.

Battalion Chief Dean Lange was working at Station 26 when Jack and his mother walked in to visit. Lange didn’t know who they were. He didn’t realize it was Jack until he saw his gait.

That’s when he realized, “That’s the Fletcher kid.”

Lange walked the Fletchers back to see the firefighters and witnessed a transformation.

“I looked at the crew’s faces. They lit up,” Lange said. “I looked at Jack’s face. His face lit up. Then I looked at his mom’s face. I can’t even explain the look on his mom’s face. That’s when I thought: ‘We’ve got to get Jack back in here. It’s good for us, and it’s good for Jack.’ “

“Jack was an important member of our community, and then he was injured,” said Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy. “Chief Lange brought Jack back into our community. Jack is on the comeback trail.”

Since December, Jack has volunteered one 10-hour shift per week at Clark County Fire & Rescue stations in Woodland, Dollars Corner, Ridgefield and La Center. The firefighters don’t give him special treatment. He inventories supplies in the trucks. He carries the groceries and sweeps the station floor.

“A lot of it’s memory. Knowing what items are stored in the engine. What chores need to be done,” said Fire Capt. Clint Granato. “We’ve definitely seen a lot of improvement every shift he comes.”

Volunteering at fire stations “is the best occupational therapy I could have,” Jack said.

Although he can accompany the firefighters on calls, at this point, he’s an observer. His participation is limited to carrying equipment for the crew. He hasn’t been issued firefighting gear yet. But after he completes his therapy and is ready for more rigorous physical work, that could be a next step. Jack talked about perhaps taking EMT courses after he’s completed his therapy.

“Jack’s really progressed since he first started,” Lange said. “I wouldn’t do anything to limit Jack.”

“He’s the Comeback Kid,” said Todd McCabe, a firefighter paramedic who works with Jack. “We’re going to make him a chief yet.”

Jack is still finding ways to compensate for his injuries. Before the accident, he relaxed by playing guitar. Even in the hospital, when his brain was still finding its way back, he rallied when a volunteer played guitar and Jack sang along, his speech faltering.

Last week in his family’s living room, Jack picked up his acoustic guitar and on his injured right hand, he put a special guitar pick holder that helped him strum.

In April, he ran the Blooms to Brews 10K Run in Woodland with his buddy, Jode DeKlerk, in 55 minutes and 11 seconds. It was Jack’s first 10K. Now, he’s planning a longer run.

“Just lately, I feel we’re getting back to normal,” Kelly said. “We’ve put a period after some things.”

As the family grasps for a return to normalcy, they face a paper shopping bag crammed with medical bills and insurance paperwork.

“Kelly manages that,” John said, nodding toward his wife. “It’s the messy, ugly side of the whole thing.”

Forgiveness

In March, the family witnessed the sentencing of Trevor Hughes, who was given three years in prison for third-degree assault and drunken driving.

Jack, 19, stood face-to-face with Hughes, 26.

“He didn’t look like a monster,” Jack said. “He just made bad decisions.”

Jack, who is a Christian, told Hughes: “I forgive you,” then said he recited a Bible verse: “Forgive others as Christ forgave you.”

On his smartphone, Jack has a photo of his crushed car. On tough days, he sometimes looks at that photo to gain perspective.

“When I have a bad day, I think, ‘Wow! It could be much worse,’ ” he said.

“I’m amazed at how far he’s come,” said his mom. “I don’t take anything for granted anymore. I have so much more appreciation.”

Sitting in his family’s living room, Jack clutched his medal of St. Florian — patron saint of firefighters — hanging by a chain around his neck. At the crash site, it was that medal spotted by the first responders from Hoodland Fire District in Welches, Ore., that signaled Jack was a fellow firefighter, a brother.

Some months after the crash, Jack and his family visited the Hoodland crew to thank them for extricating him from th evehicle and saving his life.

Jack has collected fire department cloth patches from fire departments around the U.S. and the world.

Jack and his parents have planned a trip to Prineville, Ore., to visit the firefighting crew that Jack was part of for only six weeks before the crash.

“We’re going back to my crew. Check in with them,” Jack said.”I never grew up with a brother. Now, I have an army of them.”