Jackson Gleason’s family had planned to meet with doctors Aug. 4 about performing a tracheotomy on the boy, who almost drowned last month in Vancouver and had been on life support for two weeks.
The 9-year-old’s aunt, Stephanie Felion, said the family was bracing for the operation to help Jackson breathe, but he didn’t need it. That morning, the boy woke up, and the doctors took him off his ventilator.
His condition has been improving substantially ever since, Felion said.
“He’s shocking everybody at this point. Every morning during rounds, the doctors say how pleased they are with his progress,” she said.
Jackson, of Sherwood, Ore., nearly drowned in the pool at his father’s Vancouver apartment complex on July 21. When he was recovered from the bottom of the pool, he had no pulse.
Paramedics were able to restart his heartbeat, then rushed him to a hospital. He’s been at the intensive care unit of Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland since.
Felion, Jackson’s parents and other family have been with the boy at Randall every day, enduring what was, initially, a frightening series of ups and downs as doctors tried to treat the serious damage the near-drowning did to Jackson’s lungs, heart and kidneys.
Now, the staff regularly sits him up in a wheelchair, and he has started some basic physical and speech therapy, his aunt said. They’ve also started the process of weaning him off the pain medications and sedatives.
The doctors expect Jackson will remain in the ICU for several more days until he’s moved to a regular room, Felion said. After he recovers in the hospital, the expectation is he’ll start rehab, she said.
His kidneys have gone from functioning at about 10 percent to 70 percent, she said. His heart is relatively better, but his lungs remain in bad shape.
Still, she said, “it’s been like night and day.”
The extent of any brain damage is unclear, she said, but the family is optimistic that he could return to his normal self.
“It’s still going to take him a while. His speech is not that great,” Felion said. “He knows who we are, and he’s able to say little things.”
Meanwhile, the family has been able to find a bit of relief as Jackson’s health improves.
“It’s been really amazing what he has done and accomplished so far,” she said. “It is a huge relief. We can all kind of breathe a little bit.”
Felion’s birthday was Sunday, and her sister, Jackson’s mom, planned a surprise party in the ICU for her.
“The only thing I wanted for my birthday was to be able to see his eyes,” Felion said.
