Arman's Story

Arman Johnson is a 29-year-old male who was involved in a single-car accident with ejection on 1/16/2022. He was taken to a local trauma center with a diagnosis of severe TBI, multiple fractures and internal injuries. He was discharged home on 4/21/2022 in a minimally conscious state with a tracheostomy, oxygen, feeding tube, foley catheter, contractures, and multiple pressure ulcer wounds. He was non-verbal and dependent for all ADLs and transfers. He had not received any inpatient or outpatient rehab as he was uninsured.

Arman is single with no children and has supportive parents and a sister. He was working in an automotive/tire shop at the time of his accident. His mother works from home and his father is disabled, but active, and not working.

Arman was admitted to the GA RSVP Clinic in September of 2022 and was beginning to follow some commands. He still had his feeding tube and his tracheostomy had just been removed. He was being followed medically by the local public charity hospital. His dedicated parents who do have some resources were paying for transportation to and from hospital visits, his oxygen, wound care and supplies, feeding tube nutrition and a wheelchair that he could be transported in, while waiting on SSDI income and Medicaid.

Arman was seen in September for an assessment. The GA RSVP Clinic provided a lot of education about traumatic brain injury and recovery as well as strategies for feeding, medications for spasticity and tone, safe transfers, and bowel and bladder management. Arman lives about an hour away from the clinic and transportation was costing $400 round trip thus we decided to provide telehealth services for support and strategies. His parents were dedicated to his recovery and provided all the strategies we recommended. In January of 2023 Arman had made so much progress physically, cognitively and emotionally that we felt he needed to come in person.

To date, Arman is now eating himself with some adaptive equipment due to contractures in his elbows. He follows commands consistently and is very motivated to get better. He is a delight to talk with and loves to interact with people. He now can tell the family when he has to use the bathroom. Arman is now helping some with his transfers and can stand for short periods of time with a lot of support. His mother and father continue to learn about all they can do to support Arman’s recovery. We have been able to help them with resources, support services, wound care supplies, and prescriptions. Arman’s mother is now attending a virtual caregiver support group. We were able to provide information on affordable government insurance policy so they could get medical care and more intense rehab care until Arman could get Medicaid. As of 5/23/23, they still have not been approved for Medicaid despite Arman’s disabilities. The family is very appreciative of how we have helped them and Arman’s recovery.