On the night of September 27, 2005, Charbel was driving home from Halifax after writing an exam to become a personal trainer, when he had a terrible vehicle accident. By the time he was freed from the vehicle, he was unconscious and had very shallow breathing. It was reported that he was deprived of oxygen for an unknown period of time. He was intubated on the scene and then moved to a local hospital to be stabilized. He was later transferred to the city hospital, QEII in Halifax, Nova Scotia (1hour away).

Charbel suffered severe traumatic brain injury with a subdural hematoma and required an immediate surgery to remove the blood. The brain continued to swell and the ICP (Intracranial pressure) kept dangerously rising. His chance of survival was becoming very slim at that time so they induced him into a barbiturate coma to help and control the ICP. After that attempt failed, they had a bone flap removed from the left side. His brain continued to swell because of subdural collection of fluids, which also caused an infection in the brain. They surgically evacuated the fluids several times but it kept recollecting, so finally at four weeks post trauma a peritoneal shunt was put in place. He developed many infections while in ICU (pneumonia, etc…). CT scans showed damage to the brain and the doctors didn’t give us much hope for recovery.

Weeks passed by and Charbel remained in a coma and on a feeding tube. One eye initially opened at around seven weeks and then later both his eyes fully opened. Charbel’s tracheotomy tube was removed nine weeks after the accident. He had abnormal posturing and severe spasticity in both upper and lower limbs. He responded to painful stimuli and sometimes to loud noises, which was very exciting to see and gave the family hope and belief that these were positive signs for recovery. Charbel received physiotherapy 4-5 days a week on average and OT put casts on his legs to prevent further deformity. The casts are now removed but he has splints for his arms that he wears for several hours a day to help with his spasticity. Charbel continues to receive physiotherapy several times a week, and other treatments such as massage and acupuncture that help to relax his muscles.

Back in February, while still in QEII, Charbel underwent another surgery to replace the shunt due to a blockage which caused swelling of the brain. This problem produced a set back in his recovery. He was later sent to Windsor hospital, close to home where he is still receiving the care he needs. He also gets physiotherapy, sensory and body stimulation every day from a friend who has donated his time and energy to helping Charbel. Charbel sits in his wheel chair now for 4 – 5 hours a day. Usually during this time we like to bring him home so that he can be close to the family and in familiar surroundings.

It has been nearly one year since Charbel’s accident. Charbel remains in a minimally conscious state until now. It is difficult to determine whether or not he recognizes his family and friends, or whether he understands what we are saying to him because he cannot yet verbally or physically respond to commands. But we believe that he can feel our presence even if he can’t tell us yet. The rigidity in his limbs has been reduced, and he seems to be more aware of his surroundings and he reacts to certain stimuli. Charbel often reacts to light, loud noises and other sounds and smells.  (Compare this with his current capabilities on the other news pages.)

On Monday September 18th, Charbel underwent another operation, this time to put back the bone flap that the doctors removed last September. So far, everything seems to be going well, although he is a little swollen from the surgery. Charbel is now back in the hospital in Windsor recovering from the surgery.