When her husband, Jon, headed out on the night of March 16 to help people in downtown Raleigh after a massive fire engulfed an apartment building, Laura Grant never thought it would be their last.
Acting on his “Navy Seal and medic training,” Jon was doing what Laura had seen him do time and time again—helping those in distress in the wake of tragedy.
The apartment fire was a vacant building under construction that rapidly erupted into a glow that could be seen on doppler radar by meteorologists across the country.
Laura’s worst fears came true, but unlike she thought, it wasn’t his heroic efforts to help those in need that caused harm to her husband.
It was a car accident instead.
Jon had suffered Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)—a traumatic brain injury that often causes unconsciousness and a persistent vegetative state.
Laura replayed the events of that fateful day in a Facebook post by Love What Matters:
“The last text conversation I had with Jon was how he and his buddy were trying to see if they could help the horrible fire that happened in downtown Raleigh March 16th. Between Jon’s Navy Seal and medic training he was doing what we had all seen him doing before in times of tragedy…helping those in distress. That night when I received the call, my first thought was he had been hurt in the fire as the lady on the phone said your husband is non responsive. Next I was told it was an automobile accident and that he suffered Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) forcing him into a coma.”
Jon was in a coma, and 90 percent of patients with severe DAI never regain consciousness.
But Jon did.
Today he’s alert, and working tirelessly to re-learn just a fraction of the things he once knew.
In a video Laura posted on Instagram, Jon is learning how to stand!
With Laura supporting him by a belt in front, and the therapist guiding him from the back, the minute-long clip shows Jon going from his wheelchair to standing ALL the way up!
Everything in between is a sweet moment between a husband and wife, overcoming the battles they face, together. They kiss and whisper to each other as viewers watch and see Jon draw from his wife’s strength and vice-versa.
“One of the nurses told me yesterday he had seen many guys with similar injuries in recovery and at this stage many show signs of frustration, but the nurse said Jon doesn’t show frustration, but rather determination. That statement will forever stick with me.”
Laura says she’s never fully been able to comprehend that Jon’s injury is the most severe form of traumatic brain injury.
“I kept thinking, Jon is stronger than that. He beats the odds. Heck he is a Navy Seal. Nothing stops him.
And Jon is proving me right.”
#StayStrongJonnyGrant, our prayers are with you.
