The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a car accident left 24-year-old Chacelle Johnson-Ferguson paralysed with severe brain injuries, her family is now seeking assistance with the expenses for potentially life saving treatments.

The accident happened on May 27 around 2am. Chacelle was travelling on Thompson Boulevard, when the car she was driving hit a guard rail and overturned. She was thrown out of the vehicle. Chacelle was the only person involved in the accident.

As a result, the young mother sustained serious injuries and underwent immediate surgery at the Princess Margaret Hospital. She has been hospitalised ever since.

Her older sister Chanelle Johnson has been doing all that she can to make sure her sister gets the treatment she needs.

She is also the guardian of Chacelle’s 20-month-old daughter, Payton.  

She said: “She was on a her way home at the time the accident took place. When the police and ambulance came they did not notify us right away because she did not have any form of identification.

“When she got to the hospital, the doctor’s main concern was putting her organs back in place. She ruptured her diaphragm and all of the organs were pushed into her chest cavity. Several bones in her neck were fractured as well, so she underwent several procedures that saved her life,” she said.

Even after undergoing surgery, Chacelle is still paralysed on the right side of her body and has diffuse axonal injury.

Diffuse axonal injury occurs as a result of the brain moving back and forth in the skull as a result of acceleration or deceleration.

Some of the major causes of this condition include automobile accidents, sports-related accidents, violence, falls, and child abuse such as Shaken Baby Syndrome. A diffuse axonal injury also causes brain cells to die, which causes swelling in the brain.

This increased pressure in the brain can cause decreased blood flow to the brain, as well as additional injury.

“When she was first admitted she was on the intensive care unit. She was in a comatose state for about four weeks. As she progressed she was place on the Female Surgical ward. Her eyes are open now but she is non verbal and non communicative,” Chanelle told Tribune Health.

Doctors have advised that Chacelle’s best chance of recovery is receiving intensive therapy at a rehabilitation hospital in the US. She was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami Florida last week to begin treatment.

To treat the condition immediate measures must take place in order to reduce swelling in the brain, Chanelle said. If not treated, it can cause additional damage.  Chacelle’s rehabilitation at Jackson Memorial Hospital involves speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, adaptive equipment training and counselling.

Chanelle said her sister’s ordeal has been mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially taxing on the family. She said they are doing all they can to raise money so that Chacelle’s life can get back to normal.

“The doctors have not made any promises, but we are praying and hoping that everything works out. We needed $100,000 deposit just for her to be accepted at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

We were able to come up with $45,000 which covered the first 30 days of treatment.  Altogether we need a quarter of a million dollars for everything including the treatment and whatever medication she needs afterwards,” she said.  

Family, friends and others in the community have helped the Johnson family. She said the moral, and financial support they have received has been overwhelming.

“I just want my sister back. I miss her so much. I just want things to get back to normal. She has always been vibrant and full of life and I think her fight for life is what has kept her alive.

That is the reason why we are fighting on our end. We appreciate all the support of the we have received from everyone,” she said.

To help the Johnson family contact 558-2582.