Man In Recovery After Major Traumatic Brain Injury

In July of 2011, 22-year-old Matt Davis was in a motorcycle accident that left him in a coma with multiple broken bones and a severe brain injury. After nine days, doctors told his wife, Danielle, that her husband would not wake up and advised her to take him off life support. She refused to “pull the plug”, and in the years since, Matt, once thought to be in a permanent vegetative state, has undergone a startling and dramatic recovery.

Danielle Davis recounts the journey of the last three years in a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising funds for Matt’s continued therapy. At the time of the accident, she and Matt had only been married for seven months, and, despite pressure to remove him from life support, she says, “We didn't really have a chance to start our life together, I wasn't going to give up.” He was in a coma for three months following the accident; Danielle writes,

During that time he showed little progress and was discharged from the hospital to our home where my mom and I cared for him 24/7. Feeding tube, adult "briefs", sponge baths, over 20 medications, physical therapy, turning him every 2 hrs to prevent bed sores, etc

At home, Matt became increasingly active, moving around and grunting, before finally making a major leap: Danielle put a hat in his hand and told him to put it on. Eventually he replied, “I’m trying!” Understandably, Danielle says of the brief sentence, “It was the greatest thing I've ever heard!”

In the years since, Matt has made huge strides in his recovery. After intensive therapy, Matt is able to “talk, sing, laugh, make jokes, eat and drink on his own, use the bathroom with minimal assistance, wheel his wheelchair, walk with assistance with a walker.” His short-term and long-term memory are intact, but his memories of the two or three years before his accident are spotty — meaning he has no memory of his relationship with Danielle or their wedding.

Although Matt has improved by leaps and bounds since 2011, there is still a long way to go in his recovery. The Davises' insurance will no longer cover therapy, so the couple has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to pay for a year of intensive therapy with a personal trainer. So far, they’ve raised over $18,000 of their $20,800 goal. There is a lot of hard work ahead for Matt and Danielle, but they’re looking to the future with hope. In a recent Facebook post, Danielle wrote,

Matt's brain is still healing. It's still improving. A friend asked me last night, so casually. So matter of fact, like he knows it's going to happen, "What are you gonna do when Matt's not in a wheelchair anymore?" The answer: Everything. We're going to do everything.

You can check out the couple’s fundraiser here, and learn more about Matt’s recovery on their Facebook page.

Images: Matt Davis Recovery/ Facebook (4)