My 5-year-old son, Alex, was in a car accident and suffered a closed head injury, putting him in a comatose state. Before he was admitted to Michael’s House, Alex was in another rehabilitation facility for two months without any response to stimuli. The facility reported that Alex would never walk again and would have little to no progress, with dependence on a feeding tube for nutrition for the remainder of his life.

Since he has been at Michael’s House, Alex has developed a significant response to stimuli, and his first sign of recovery: opening his eyes. Within weeks, he has gone from being in a comatose state, to moving his extremities and crawling from place to place. Soon after, he was pushing himself around in a wheelchair, making his daily rounds to share his smile.  When the therapy department began working with Alex, he showed small signs of improvement. In a short while, with little help from physical therapy and the staff of Michael’s House, Alex was able to walk! On that day, there was not a dry eye in the building. He now counts with his hands and uses sign language to spell out his name; and impressively, communicates three precious words, “I love you.” Alex attends school five days a week and continues to progress on a daily basis.

In the beginning, Alex’s future was grim. But after his stay at Michael’s House, accompanied by the care and assistance from the staff, along with his inner determination, Alex can now begin to live his life as a normal 5-year-old boy.

- Art Bagby, Alex’s father