Every day, every hour, and every minute is important in life. For Jace Blue, so is every breath.
Jace had just wrapped up his first season on the Christian County High School golf team. The eighth-grader survived the wind and rain to tie for 54th place at the Region II Tournament in late September. He then embarked on his second sport – baseball.
Jace’s father Jared was the starting second baseman on Christian County’s 2004 state championship baseball team. There wasn’t much doubt that Jace was going to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Jace was in Memphis over Halloween weekend to play in a travel baseball tournament with his Velo travel team. After a day of games, the plan was to eat and then go to Dave and Buster’s afterward. During the meal, Jace told Jared he needed his inhaler, which was not out of the ordinary.
JARED: He looked at me and said ‘let’s not go to Dave and Buster’s. Let’s just got to the hotel. I’m not feeling good.’ About five minutes later, he said ‘let’s go to the hospital.’
Jace was having a severe asthma attack. He was diagnosed with asthma when he was three-years-old and had endured attacks before. This was Jace’s third asthma attack in the past three months that required a trip to the hospital. They normally include a steroid shot and breathing treatment, and he’s normally good to go a couple of hours later. One of the attacks occurred on the way to a golf tournament at Madisonville, and he was forced to miss it.
This attack was different. More severe. It led to cardiac arrest.
JARED: We got to the hospital just outside of Memphis, and they normally push him through triage. We have a breathing treatment and steroid shot within 15 minutes. This time, he was put into triage and began to panic. He started reaching, trying to grab something and that’s when he passed out. They threw him on a bed, put him in a room, and began to intubate him to help with his breathing.
He was stabilized within an hour and arrangements were made to transfer Jace to a children’s hospital.
JARED: It was 45 minutes to an hour of mass chaos. It was getting him intubated, him going into cardiac arrest, them bringing him back, him going back into cardiac arrest, and them bringing him back. Then stabilizing him and making arrangements to move him by ambulance.
Jace’s mother Karly Blane had not made the trip to Memphis. She had stayed home to take their daughter Rylynn trick or treating.
KARLY: It was her last year to do that so I stayed home. We got the 911 text from Jared and it said ‘911. It’s different this time. We’re at the hospital, and it’s not looking good.’
JARED: She just got a lot of mass chaos texts from me and really didn’t get a good understanding of what was going on because I was in a panic and in disbelief of what was going on.
KARLY: Hearing the initial details of what happened is still really difficult.
Jace was transferred to the intensive care unit at Le Bohneur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. He was placed on a ventilator, and Karly arrived soon after.
The doctors saw signs early that Jace was trying to breathe on his own. He began to talk and communicate and was up and walking around the next day. He was moved out of ICU and into a regular hospital room.
While the doctors looked to release Jace from the hospital, there were signs that Jace wasn’t quite ready to be sent home. And it turned out that was a blessing.
Three days after being moved out of ICU, Jace began to have spasms in his legs that later moved to full body spasms.
The neurological team decided to do another MRI and an EEG to see what the full extent of the lack of oxygen and blood flow was from his cardiac arrest. While the scan didn’t show any seizures, Jace’s cognitive skills began to deteriorate. He had trouble seeing and speaking clearly and had trouble with basic body movements.
He began to have spasms in his legs that at first seemed like an extreme restless leg but then became noticeable when he was trying to walk and was kicking his left side out with each step.
More testing and monitoring were done over the next 48 hours to determine if the spasms were seizures.
JARED: Before this, he had full movement in his arms and legs when he was having no spasms. Now, there was no intentional movement in his arms or legs. He couldn’t squeeze your hand and had lost all body functions.
After nearly three weeks of treatment, the doctors said Jace suffered from an anoxic brain injury that can kill brain cells and cause stroke-like symptoms.
Still wanting more answers, the decision was made to move Jace to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a facility that specializes in treatment for acquired brain injuries and other neuromuscular problems.
The not-for-profit facility only accepts patients 14 and older. Jace turned 14 on a Tuesday and was accepted to the hospital on Thursday of the same week.
It was there doctors determined Jace had Delayed Posthypoxic Leukoencephalapothy – a rare condition that follows a brain incident where a lack of oxygen was present. The condition is common among those people who suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.
KARLY: We were mindblown. We had not been given that diagnosis before we got to Atlanta. We didn’t know what it was. We didn’t know what we were looking at because we had no frame of reference in regard to anything. We learned this was serious, but we learned you can come back from this. Your brain tells your body to go ahead and start the healing process before it has determined whether the brain cells damaged during his lack of oxygen are going to live or die. His body decided to try and heal.
While studies have shown the recovery process to take up to a year, Jace is in for a heavy schedule of rehab. Not just physical rehab, but speech rehab and even respiratory rehab.
KARLY: Jace is in intensive therapy all day every day. He’s working his tail off with the most incredible attitude you could ever ask for in a child who is experiencing something like this. So positive. So ready to work hard every single day. He hasn’t shed a single tear. He hasn’t been angry or resentful about his situation. I’m so incredibly proud of him because he didn’t ask for this, but he has fought through this like a champion.
Karly’s husband Alex Blane made a sign that’s posted near Jace’s hospital bed that says ‘Work harder than you did yesterday.’
KARLY: Doing the hard work is the athlete in him. Every day, getting up. Working hard. What’s your goal this week going to be.
JARED: Last week, he couldn’t speak. He was able to answer questions by raising eyebrows and squeezing his eyes closed. Now, he is talking some and communicating more.
KARLY: Because of our faith, we look for signs from the Lord all the time. Isaiah 43:2 is Jace’s favorite verse, and it popped up on a particularly hard day. These are signs from the Lord saying ‘I’ve got this. I’m in complete control. You’re going to get better.’
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze — Isaiah 43:2
Jace, a member of the Junior Beta Club and a student at the Gateway Academy for gifted students, is already relearning to speak and move independently. Both parents say it’s the little wins like sitting up in the bed and lifting his legs that keep them motivated.
JARED: He is so determined to always show us something new and something more extreme and better every time. That’s the stuff that motivates us.
KARLY: We know we are making progress. We see complete recovery in sight.
The process has not only been hard on Jace but on the family as well. Karly has been with her son at the hospital since he was moved to Atlanta on November 19. COVID-19 protocols only allow one parent to be with Jace at the hospital, and Karly can’t leave. If she does, she won’t be allowed to re-enter until family training is held at the end of the hospital stay. No one knows when that will be.
Jared has been facetiming Jace every day and encouraging him.
Karly said she plans to switch out with Jared in the future so that he can be with Jace during his stay.
KARLY: He doesn’t have the support of Jared here. This is his dad. He’s a 14-year-old boy. That’s rough. You have to have both parents in this situation.
But it doesn’t mean the family hasn’t been close. Nearly a dozen family members have made the trek to Atlanta over the past three weeks. Jace is wheeled into a gated garden area where nearby family members, including dad Jared, sister Rylynn, and step-dad Alex, can see and communicate with him for 2-3 hours every Saturday.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, Jared cooked ham and Rylynn made the sides for a holiday meal that was taken to Atlanta for Jace and Karly.
The family has also created the ‘Jog for Jace’ Facebook page for inspiration and motivation.
JARED: That page was created for anyone to say ‘Hey, I worked out today and did it for you.’ ‘Hey, I woke up today and did this and want you to work hard today,’ or ‘I see you working and we are proud of you.’ Anything inspirational and motivational.
CLICK HERE to follow the Jog for Jace Facebook page
A GoFundMe account has also been established to help with travel expenses as well as current and future medical expenses. As of Tuesday, it had already raised nearly $12,000 in just five days. You can give by CLICKING HERE.
With Jace moved to Atlanta the week before Thanksgiving with a stay expected to last through Christmas, the holidays take on a different look and feel for the family this year. It’s a time spent soul searching and putting everything into perspective.
KARLY: We could be looking at a completely different scenario this holiday season, and we don’t have to. He’s still here. He’s making progress and making strides, and we have that hope for his future because we still have him.
You can send Jace your get well wishes to:
Jace Blue
Room 257
Shepherd Center
2020 Peachtree Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30309
