Morgan's Story

June 17, 2017; Life changed in an instant. Morgan was a passenger in a vehicle, with 2 other people, as they were enjoying the evening and driving the countryside. They were coming up the road near a party when they were stopped by the police. One officer decided he needed to be aggressive and the driver took off, fearful for their safety. The highway patrol chased them for a few minutes and called off the chase. A rogue officer decided that decision was not right, so he engaged in pursuit. The chase was well over 40 minutes, on back country roads and under the cover of night. Ultimately, the chase ended with the vehicle Morgan was in rolling, ejecting all 3 youth. The injuries to all were horrific and on this night Morgan's life changed forever. All her decisions that night were taken away from her and her life was in the hands of a scared driver and a rogue officer.

Morgan was airlifted to the nearest trauma center, we were told that she had a diffuse brain injury, a fractured femur and a lacerated liver. When we were finally able to see her, she was covered with dirt and blood, tubes were coming out of her all over and multiple machines were hooked up to her. It was so overwhelming and there were no answers. We were told that we should contact the funeral home, as she would probably not make it. When she made it through the night and was holding her own, we had a nurse tell us we should turn off the machines, as the best we could hope for is that she would lay in a nursing home, drooling for the rest of her life, if she did survive. We decided at this point faith was all we had, it was the only answer, it was the only logical thing in an illogical situation.

Morgan surprised everyone and survived, yet the hurdles were just starting. The neurosurgeon did not believe that rehab would be worth the time, as she would never do anything. We had to fight both the hospital and the doctor to get them to do their job and help us get her to a brain rehab center. Almost 8 weeks later, we finally got approval from the doctors and insurance to move her to the rehab facility. We did not know, that if she could have gone in the first 3 weeks, her rehab path would have been different. Instead, we ended up in a transitional care unit with half day therapy versus the full day therapy of the long-term acute care. We worked with some amazing therapists who taught us so much about traumatic brain injuries and how the rehab process can and should be. Because of our classification in the facility, it was a struggle with insurance to keep her there. Of course, the facility wants their money and if they even think insurance will stop paying, you are on the fast track out the door. Goals have to be met and fast progress has to be made. Unfortunately, with brain injuries the process can be fast or slow. Neurons take their dear sweet time to reroute and heal. We ultimately ended up leaving the rehab center 6 months later, when insurance was cutting us off and nobody stays for free. We left with Morgan and the only place that was acceptable for her was her own home. We added a completely accessible addition onto our home for her, we fought for homecare, for aides, for equipment and for help. We turned over every stone, talked to anyone who may have information to guide us. We hired and fired many therapists and doctors, who all claimed they knew what to do for traumatic brain injury rehab, but guess what, they didn't. It was all a money game and we were running out fast. Finally, a referral to Mayo Clinic and then the tides changed for Morgan and for us. We had a care team for her that just started knocking out the issues, one after another and the most amazing care for Morgan happened. Multiple surgeries to fix her foot drop, her contractured hands, her muscle tone, and therapists that know all the tricks and are specialized in their areas that Morgan needed. Morgan began to blossom and a whole new world was opening to her. However, we lived 4 hours away from Mayo Clinic, but we made the weekly trips to Mayo for her, whatever she needed to get better she was going to get. She is now able to stand with minimal support, our next goal is to work on walking. Talking is still a bunch of noises and grunts with an occasional Mom or No, but we never give up hope and we always walk with God. Morgan has defied the beginning Neurosurgeon and is doing things, eating, drinking, laughing, playing pranks, kicking people, hugging, kissing, and teasing. The physical recovery will take time and it WILL come, as will her vocalization, it just takes time. We have been blessed with her and her recovery, as well as the amazing people who have supported us on this journey. We have learned so many lessons and have become advocates for other people with neurological injuries. We have learned how much we all struggle to meet the medical and therapy needs of our loved ones. The giveMORgan foundation will help others as we have been helped on this lifelong journey. God Bless --The Ten Eycks

Please follow her story fully on her caringbridge site at: Morgan | CaringBridge