Cameron's Story

Good afternoon,

Today I'm going to post about my friend, Mark Rowe's son.

I just spoke with Mark Rowe a little bit ago. He gave me an update on his son. For those of you that don't know, his son is now quadriplegic after an accident. His son Cameron is in Atlanta for treatment now...and there has been some progress. Mark just told me on the phone that Cameron is requesting special prayers for his lungs to clear and his tongue to heal so that he can eat, talk and breathe.

Mark also let me know about a website we can all visit to send Cameron our encouragement via the web. Although Cameron cannot talk, he can certainly get these messages
So, when you get a moment, go visit his site. It's really simple. Just go to www.caringbridge.org
Then type in cameronrowe (no space obviously). From there you can read his story, view his journal, and leave messages on the guestbook he checks daily.

I know that Mark & his family appreciate all the support & prayers.
Thanks!
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I thought I'd go ahead & attach some more info in case you would like it. Here ya go!

Here's Cameron's story...
On June 7, 2007, Cameron was practicing with his brother Derrick at a motocross track called Robin's Ridge, about an hour from Charlotte. On his second lap, he was riding with a group of expert riders and approached a huge jump. He decided at the last minute to slow down to avoid crashing and hurting other riders. As a result of this, Cameron landed short of the landing area, severely injuring himself. He knew that he would take a hard fall but wanted to make sure the other riders would not get hurt.
Cameron was air lifted to CMC with his father, Mark at his side, fighting for his life. He fractured his C-1, C-2 and C-4 Cervical vertebra along with other injures.
He is now in Atlanta at the Shepherd Center, one of the top spinal hospitals in the country. His spinal injury is considered an "incomplete injury" which gives us all hope that his condition improves.
Cameron wants everyone to know he appreciates all the cards and prayers and communicated to his mom and dad "my goal is to walk out of the hospital one day".
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And here's the update on how he's doing....

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 08, 2007 11:41 AM, CDT
It's been 2 months since Cameron's accident. His web page has been on line for less than 2 weeks with over 475 visits. Cameron thanks everyone for visiting and writing in the Guestbook. He looks forward each day to find words of encouragement, prayers, and humor.
This is the first update on Cameron's condition and Mark (his dad) wants everyone to know his prognosis.
It is a Traumatic Atlanta-Occipital dislocation, a rare lesion that is usually fatal. On June 14th surgeons and the trauma team performed a fusion operation that attached the base of his skull to his C-1 through C-4 vertebra with titanium rods to stabilize his neck. Test show that he did not have any cognitive brain injuries (reasoning, understanding, memory) however his brain stem was traumatized which affects all functions of his body. (Eyesight, speech, breathing, and resulting in quadriplegia paralysis)
His improvements are as follows: He has total sensation through out his body, moving his neck, shoulders, abs and isolated leg movements. Doctors have reduced his pain medicine and he is gaining more sensation in areas that he could not feel before. He is now breathing without a ventilator but uses a trach tube. Speech therapy is helping strengthen the base of his tongue so that he will be able to breathe, speak, and eat in the future. The good news is, doctors are amazed at his progress in such a short time and is conducting a medical case study to document his progress.

Cameron is requesting special prayers for his lungs to clear and his tongue to heal so that he can eat, talk and breathe.

He also asks that you pray for his family to give them hope and strength while he is in recovery.