Julian was hit by a car while biking on Tuesday, March 29th at about 4:30 pm. He was taken to the level one trauma HCMC pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) by ambulance for a traumatic brain injury (TBI), skull fracture, brain bleed, bilateral jaw fracture, and fractured clavicle. His parents have been by his side since this time.
JuJu Bee's brain bleed and swelling are stable, but he is still very swollen, weak, and bruised. He was intubated and placed on a ventilator to allow his brain and body the time it needed to rest and heal. We are so happy to share that he was successfully weaned off of the ventilator on Thursday, March 31st.
He had his first bite of yogurt and passed his swallow test on Friday April 1st. He said that strawberry yogurt was "magnifico," and requested an Oreo McFlurry and French fries. As big as his appetite is, he will need to be on a semisolid diet for about 1 month.
He is unable to be alone at this time because he is disoriented and does not like having IVs, catheters, or any foreign tubes in place. Because of this, he requires constant supervision to ensure he is safe. He is completing physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and cognitive rehab, and his care is being managed by a large team of specialists including neurologists, traumatic injury psychologists, and an orofacial reconstruction specialist. He is going to need some dental work, but at this time this is the least of JujuBee's and his families worries.
Last night he spiked a fever of 101 and had some GI issues. We are waiting on the results of his lab work, but the good news is that his chest x-ray came back negative for pneumonia, and his COVID test was negative as well. JuJu is still very weak and disoriented, but we are celebrating every small miracle, like a trip to the bathroom and Julian speaking in Spanish.
Due to COVID, there are no visitors allowed in the hospital, but Danii and Kevin get a mild reprieve when their other children Jamie (8), Koko (10), and Jayden (17) come to visit them. The other Mitchells miss their brother Julian and their parents so much, but are being so strong and wonderful as they always are.
We appreciate love, support, prayers, and healing energy being sent their way. Jamie, Koko, and Jayden will be back to school tomorrow after spring break. There are a number of ways that you can offer your support to their family. Some options could be by providing meals to the kids via apps like uber eats or grub hub or even sending meals and care packages to Danii and Kevin at HCMC. If you would like to do this, please contact me at francescaefobbe@icloud.com so that I can share the address and information with you.
As you can imagine, this is going to have a huge financial impact on their family. For this reason, any financial contributions are extremely appreciated. To do this, you can follow the link from this site to their go fund me page listed under ways to help. The kids will also need help with rides to extracurricular activities and work, and we want to ensure that they stay on top of their school studies. If you are able to send time with them and help with homework that would be so wonderful. Kids also need time to be kids and enjoy themselves, so if you have an extra hour or two to head to the park with them, that is another meaningful way to show your love and support. From the bottom of our heart, we thank you for your kindness.
We will provide more updates as they come. Juju bee has a long road to healing ahead of him and we know that he is capable of this with the continued love and support from his wonderful care team, friends, and family.
You can donate to Julian's recovery by visiting www.gofundme.com page titled help-fund-julian-mitchells-accident-recovery
Julian started his first week back at school! He is going 2-3 hours each day. Monday, wed, and fri in the am and tues and thurs pm. So far it is going well! He said he gets a bit of headache if he tries to complete a test or an assignment but has not had to take breaks at this point. He is so excited to be able to see his friends again!
We went to the orthopedist on Monday and his clavicle is still healing well. New bone has started to grow and we do not have to go back again for 6 weeks. He has full range of motion and was cleared to lift up to 15 lbs.
This afternoon we went to his speech therapist. She made sure that he knew all of his accommodations allotted for school so he has a smoother transition back. He had to do some memory tests as well. He is getting better on the memory piece but still has some trouble finding words. She explained to Julian why that was happening and showed him on a model of a skull/brain. She told him he will recover all of that and it will just continue to get better, it was interesting to see and hear about it all.
Tomorrow Julian will have a visit with the Pediatric Neurologist and Friday is hoping to have great news from the oral surgeon in way of his diet. A busy week for him but he’s taking it all in stride! A little tired but he will get some good rest over the weekend. Hope everyone has a great week! Will check in soon.
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