It was a near fatal car accident that, amazingly, Jordan Taylor survived.
But the nine-year-old Hillsboro, Texas boy had a one to two percent chance of living after his head was nearly decapitated from his body. His doctors call him a medical miracle, that he not only survived but is recovering.
Appearing on the CBS Early Show, his mother, Stacey Perez said three months ago, a dump truck ran a stop sign and plowed into her car. The boy was buckled in the back seat.
His doctor, pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Richard Roberts of Cook Children’s’ Medical Center in Fort Worth says, “The energy basically made his head lift up off his neck, and then move forward.”
It is called an "orthopedic decapitation" because his skull separated from his neck with the connective tissue destroyed.
Dr. Roberts had to first make sure that Jordan was stabilized. He was fitted with a halo, a carbon fiber ring that is screwed to his skull. “We would up putting a titanium plate on the back of his skull and attaching that by screws and rods to his neck to keep him connected,” Dr. Roberts told CBS.
During surgery, doctors were able to reattach his skull. The boy has a metal plate and titanium rods.
There was likelihood that Jordan would be paralyzed. Instead, the boy went from a wheelchair, to a walker, and then he began walking and talking, confirming he did not have brain damage.
Perez said she feels “truly blessed. Absolutely blessed and grateful and thankful to Cook Children’s Hospital. I didn’t think – surely didn’t think we would be out of here by Christmas, and didn’t think we’d even would be out of here at all with him.”
Roberts told CBS News that Jordan is neurologically intact. His recovery "is exceptional. He's done better than anyone thought he would. His injury is normally catastrophic, fatal, and he managed to survive.”
Because of his youth, doctors say he probably has better connective tissue than someone older.
Jordan should be returning to school in early January. #