Family thankful accident didn’t turn into tragedy
By Rita Jean Wagar
SHARON — Two-and-a-half-year-old David Haller is an energetic, outgoing toddler with a radiant smile and a vocabulary far beyond his years.
However, like most 2-year-olds, he says “no” when he means “yes,” says “no” when he means “no” and says “no” just because that is what 2-year-olds do. His sisters, 4-year-old Jenna and 7-year-old Sara, dote on him.
Recently, as David and Nairmeen Haller watched their son, affectionately known as Peepers, play with his sisters, retrieve a desired toy from a toy box or occasionally run to them for a hug and kiss, they called the little boy’s actions a miracle — and for good reason.
Less than three months ago, Peepers was at Akron Children’s Hospital, listed in critical condition after having been accidentally run over by his mother. On that morning of Aug. 25, Nairmeen was backing a full-size Ford SUV out of the garage so the children could get their outdoor toys. She was pulling the vehicle forward and had started to turn it to the right to park. In the meantime, the toddler had darted near the back of the passenger side of the vehicle and was caught by the rear tire, which ran over his right side.
Referring to the scenario immediately following the accident, Nairmeen said, “I realized he wasn’t breathing and immediately started CPR, and he began breathing.”
She said that as she was praying, she felt Peepers was going to be OK.
“Somehow a feeling of calm
came over me,” she said. “At least my baby
was alive.”
Within minutes, rescue personnel
were on the scene, as was a helicopter that life-flighted
the child to Akron Children’s Hospital. The next
three weeks were filled with emotional ups and downs
for David and Nairmeen.
Peepers, who had around-the-clock
nursing care, was on a ventilator, feeding tube and
IV. Indications were he couldn’t talk, see or
hear and, initially, did not respond to anyone.
“However, he was breathing
over the vent, which was good news,” Nairmeen
said.
After five days, he had a seizure,
which the doctors had expected sooner. (Peepers is still
on seizure medicine as a precautionary measure but is
expected to be entirely off the medication by the end
of January.)
The Hallers said they were not
prepared for the expected swelling of their child’s
head.
“His ears were completely
flat against his head, which had swollen to more than
twice its normal size,” Nairmeen said. “When
we asked how long this would go on, we never got an
answer, in all probability because the doctors could
not give us a direct answer.”
The one answer they did get was
“time.” But how much time, no one knew.
“I asked every doctor every
question I could think of,” said Nairmeen, who
is the research coordinator for the Department of Medicine
at Akron General Medical Center. She said her
knowledge of neurosciences and experience in the medical
field might have made the whole situation even more
difficult for her.
“I also asked the pediatric
intensive care unit nurse a million questions,”
Nairmeen said. “Like the doctors, she patiently
answered them to the best of her experience and ability.”
The ultimate low for the Hallers
was when they viewed the MRI and saw the extent of the
damage six days after Peepers’ hospitalization.
It was then they realized that he could remain in a
vegetative state.
“We were not prepared for
that possibility,” Nairmeen said. “At that
time, we broke down.”
The prognosis with any brain
injury typically takes six to 12 months to determine
the long-lasting effects, so the Hallers had no idea
how soon they would have any substantive answers. They
said it got harder and harder to keep faith, but somehow,
they did.
During the next two weeks at
Children’s, Peepers’ progress was slow,
but constant. After three weeks, the toddler was determined
to be sufficiently medically stable to be transferred
to the Cleveland Clinic for rehabilitation. However,
there was no indication he could see or hear. He could
not walk or talk. He was too weak to sit up by himself.
All he could do was move his legs and right arm, Nairmeen
said.
During his second week
at the Cleveland Clinic, “Peepers
started ‘flying,’” Nairmeen said,
adding that his progress, including beginning to talk,
seemed to happen all at once. “His improvement
was so rapid the doctors told us, ‘He’s
not changing day by day, he’s changing hour by
hour.’”
During his entire hospitalization,
at least one parent was always with the little boy.
“The doctors told us recovery
time is often faster for a patient when a family member
is present,” Nairmeen said.
At the end of the third week
at the Cleveland Clinic, Peepers came home, but went
to Children’s daily for rehabilitation. Now he
is back in Montessori school each Monday and Tuesday.
He goes to rehab every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Although David and Nairmeen agree
that Peepers is “nearly the same as before the
accident,” they said the prognosis is still unknown,
as his brain has much more healing to do.
During one of the “low
moments,” Nairmeen said, “My parents sat
us down and told us, ‘You can’t give up.
Ask God to see you through,’ which is just what
we did.”
How has this experience changed
the Hallers’ lives?
“It has sure slowed our
lifestyle and shifted our priorities,” David said.
“We now know not to take a single thing for granted.”
He said people are a lot more
thoughtful and helpful than he ever realized. He
stressed how meaningful the support
has been from family, friends, neighbors, business associates,
Sharon Elementary School, the entire Highland Local
Schools District community and even people they have
never met.
The Hallers said they are eternally
grateful to the caring doctors and nurses at both facilities,
and to the rescue people who were first on the scene
that fateful August morning.
Two-and-a-half-year-old David Haller stands by the SUV that ran over his right side in August.
Photo:
Don Wagar
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