It was the call that no parent ever wants to get. Meaghan and Ryan Meister’s 17-year-old son, Jeffrey, had been rushed to the hospital after taking a nasty fall.
According to reports, the teen was looking at his phone as he walked up some steps at his girlfriend’s house. The six-foot, two-inch tall high schooler smacked his head on a light fixture, mid-way up the steps, when he fell backward onto a concrete landing. Jeffrey’s head took the brunt of his fall, striking the concrete and leaving the teen’s future completely unknown.
Jeffrey’s girlfriend called his parents, but Ryan admits he wasn’t sure what to expect of his son’s condition. He never could have predicted the severity of Jeffrey’s injuries, as her comments were “short and brief.”
“We thought it was a concussion or something,” Meaghan said.
Upon arriving at a Sparrow Hospital in Grand Ledge, Michigan, Jeffrey underwent emergency brain surgery after doctors discovered extensive brain damage.
Through further examination, medical professionals informed Jeffrey’s parents that the teen’s skull had cracked open, breaking in half. As a result, he’d suffered from an internal brain-bleed, swelling and a stroke. Doctors removed the right half of his skull within an hour of arriving to the hospital, relieving pressure from the brain, which was shoved to one side of his head and crushing his spine from the force of impact.
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In Jeffrey’s split-second fall backward off of the steps, the teen was now in a coma, with no promise of ever waking up.
For five days, Meaghan and Ryan along with their two younger sons, Jackson (8) and Jacob (11), spent countless hours worrying, hoping, praying and talking with their lifeless son and brother at his bedside. They were beginning to lose hope, and the thought of life without Jeffrey was becoming more of a devastating reality.
That’s when the unthinkable happened.
Jeffrey woke up five days after his life-changing fall, uttering the words “dad” and “mom.”
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It was a miracle that shocked everyone, including doctors and nurses around the hospital. Medical Director of Sparrow’s pediatric intensive care unit, Stephen Guertin, told local news that the hospital sees head injuries similar to Jeffrey’s every year. Unlike this, most often have a fatal outcome.
In the days since miraculously waking up, the 17-year-old has continued to thrive. Doctors were able to remove his feeding tube and ventilator, and he’s begun to sit up with assistance. Jeffrey is able to move his hands and talk, and hospital staff have helped him to stand and take a few steps around his room.
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Doctors are unsure of what the future holds for Jeffrey both physically and cognitively. But one thing is for certain, the Meister family has every reason to never give up hope. They are taking their son’s second chance at life as reassurance that “miracles are out there.”
Please join us in praying for Jeffrey’s speedy and full recovery. Regardless of the doctors’ uncertainty, we can be certain that nothing is impossible for our God.
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” ~Jeremiah 32:27
The Meisters have started a GoFundMe page for those who feel led to financially assist the family with the unthinkable medical bills they face now and throughout the unforeseeable future.
