Aubrey Thompson is a Bartram Trail high school student and athlete who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in a single vehicle accident that took place last year on October 16. He has been working through an arduous recovery process ever since. During the first week of March, Aubrey’s high school friend, family, and supporters from the local community welcomed him back to his hometown with a huge Welcome Home event.
On Friday March 7, students and local gathered to line a stretch of road spanning Florida State Route 13 (just outside of Jacksonville) with banners, signs jerseys and more, according to the PrayForAubrey Facebook page.
Thompson has made Significant Strides in Recovery at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center
A few months earlier, Thompson was released from UF Health Jacksonville, exactly 100 days after he first arrived with a life-threatening traumatic brain injury. After receiving over three months of acute treatment at the hospital, Thompson made the transition to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a prominent, leading rehabilitation facility for patients recovering from brain and spinal cord injuries. When Aubrey first arrived with his parents, Sherri and Jim, he was greeted by at the Shepherd Center by a large group of local friends, family and supporters from around the country who had been praying for him as he entered the next phase of recovery.
Thompson’s most recent prognosis for improvement was positive, according to Aubrey’s father, Jim, who spoke with a reporter from the Times-Union back in January. Mentally, he has displayed continued gains and had also been working on rebuilding his vocal cords and voice. With many traumatic brain injuries, there’s simply no precise timetable for when the healing process will be complete. Jim Thompson said in January:
“As far as Aubrey’s physical development, his healing, he has really come a long way, he’s doing great. From the day of the accident when we were very strongly encouraged to prepare ourselves for him to die, to today, to see where God has brought him is incredible.”
Single Vehicle Automobile Crash Resulted in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury for High School Student
Last October, Thompson was riding along as a passenger in his friend’s pickup truck on Longleaf Pine Parkway near Jacksonville, FL. The driver lost control of the truck as result of excessive speed. According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office preliminary investigation, the pickup truck was travelling at a rate of speed near 80 mph and its driver was apparently racing another vehicle at the time of the crash.
The pickup truck rolled over twice when it lost control. The driver was wearing a seat belt and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Thompson, however, wasn’t wearing a seat belt and was critically injured in the accident. He was immediately airlifted from the crash scene to UF Health Shands.
Thompson, age 17, didn’t have any broken bones or internal injuries, but suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Jim Thompson noted that during the first month, Aubrey’s prognosis was touch and go. As the brain healed, Thompson suffered common secondary problems such as pneumonia, lung and kidney issues, and a recurring air leak in his brain.
Aubrey’s family has continued to post Facebook updates, both positive and negative, on a page established to keep all of the supporters up to date on his condition. Jacksonville.com and The Florida Times-Union will be providing follow up coverage of Thompson’s homecoming.
References:
The Florida Times Union
