Patient stories: A car wreck, a TBI and a teen determined to attend his senior prom

At 17, Josh Lever was living an active life. He enjoyed wrestling at Lexington High School, spending time outdoors and helping around the family farm. His daily routine was shattered the night Josh’s mom Jennifer received a worrying notification on her phone from his Apple watch.

“His Apple watch notified me that he had been in a car wreck,” said Jennifer. “I tried to call Josh but he didn’t answer the phone. I got in my car and I drove to the scene and I saw his car wrapped around a tree.”

For Josh, his first memories of the experience begin not with the accident, but with going into pediatric inpatient rehab after time spent in the adult surgical trauma ICU and initial recovery from his injuries.

For director of inpatient surgical rehab Matthew MacCarthy, MD, the first concern was helping Josh recover from the traumatic brain injury he had sustained during the accident and regaining his strength. When Josh arrived in inpatient pediatric rehab, he was still wearing a back brace due to a spinal fracture and struggled with basic skills like moving his right arm or standing up on his own. Dr. MacCarthy could see that Josh worried about a potentially limited future.

“When we’re talking about cases that we admit here on inpatient rehab, it’s any kind of injury or illness that affects a child’s ability to function in everyday life and has decreased that function compared to previously when they were not in the hospital,” said Dr. MacCarthy. “From day one, Josh was extremely vocal about, ‘My senior prom is coming up and I’m going.’ So, as soon as he was standing and able to take a few steps, we made it his biggest goal for getting out of here.”

For Josh, the prospect of attending his senior prom was a goal he was determined to meet. With the help of three of his closest friends, the pediatric rehab team and his family, Josh was able to meet those expectations and recovered enough to attend and enjoy his senior prom.

After leaving inpatient rehab, Josh continued to make progress in outpatient therapy while continuing his recovery at home.

“I couldn’t tell you which therapy was my favorite, because I just they were all so good and we always were making progress,” said Josh. “It helped me keep my spirits up so high in there on top of just them being really standout people.”

Josh’s family credits the team at Prisma Health Richland Children’s Hospital not just for his incredible recovery, but for offering them kindness, patience and compassion during a frightening, uncertain time.

“When I say that Prisma Health is here for good, to me that means that my team and I are here to do the best that we can for each and every child, and I think we do a great job of that,” said Dr. MacCarthy. “We treat each kid like they’re our own, and it means the world to us to make as much of a difference in the lives of the children and the families and get them back as functional as we possibly can.”