Recovery Begins Here | A Story of Starting Again featuring Devin Neal

South Central Rehabilitation Services

On June 26, 2020, sixteen-year-old Jones County native, Devin Neal, and two others were involved in an ATV accident. Devin suffered major injuries to the upper region of his body. He had to be airlifted to a Jackson area hospital, where he remained for 2 months. When Devin returned home, his family chose South Central Rehabilitation Services to receive therapy to learn life skills and regain independence. The therapy team at South Central worked to help Devin achieve his goals.

Devin’s mother, Sandra Ratcliff, explains, “When I received a call from my son, Austin, that my other son, Devin, was badly injured, I froze. It was a nightmare. The only thing moving on Devin were his feet. He was put on a ventilator. I had many friends, family, schools and people from different states praying for Devin’s recovery. We stayed in Jackson for 2 months. After Devin was stable, he was transferred to a Jackson-area inpatient rehabilitation facility to try to re-learn life skills. Two weeks later, Devin was discharged and sent home. Our journey for recovery began.”

Devin’s family chose to use South Central Rehabilitation Services for his recovery. “When we began looking for rehabilitation options, we were glad to learn that we could receive physical, speech and occupational therapies in one location, and at the same time. It was very convenient for Devin because he still had a GI tube, used a gate belt and needed assistance in many aspects.”

South Central’s therapy programs offer an interdisciplinary team that evaluates patients and works to make individual goals through all necessary specialties to improve function and recovery. In Devin’s case, he suffered various injuries that resulted in loss of function.

Janna Tyler, CCC-SLP, Speech Therapist, explained how Devin began his recovery journey. “After Devin was discharged from the hospital in Jackson to return home, he was sent to South Central Rehabilitation Services to receive intensive outpatient therapy. South Central offered physical, occupational and speech therapy services to meet the needs of Devin and his family. At South Central, our therapy team offers unique technologies to patients and their families that include a wide variety of therapy options.”

Laura Stringer, COTA, Occupational Therapy Assistant, recalled when Devin began therapy, “he and his mom came to us with their goals which included returning to school, increasing his strength and coordination, learning to cook and basic kitchen skills like using the microwave and other utensils. It was important for Devin to be able to walk and carry things because prior to the accident, he worked with horses and carried heavy buckets. Gaining upper body strength and endurance for a teenage male is important, so we worked toward those goals.”

Together, Laura and Devin, worked to regain aspects of daily living. Occupational therapists base their goals on what the patient wants to do. Many times the therapists will ask patients what activities they did before and what activities they want to get back to. Laura states, “Every person is different. Every goal is different. In some cases, it is learning those fine motor skills, such as holding a pencil, regaining strength and endurance to help continue caring for horses, or even relearning how to sequence things such as putting things in order to learn a process.”

Along with occupational therapy, Devin also began speech therapy services at South Central. Janna Tyler explained Devin’s care. “Devin started speech therapy services requiring cognitive, language, nutrition and feeding. He was discharged with a feeding tube from the hospital, so we needed to improve his quality of life after the feeding tube. We weened him off the feeding tube, and he showed signs of swallowing impairment. Devin also had difficulties projecting his voice and could not be heard over long distances. It was difficult for him to effectively state his wants and needs.”

South Central Speech Therapy offers comprehensive treatment for individuals who have sustained intensive injuries. “When a person starts therapy, they are scared,” said Tyler. “They do not know what to expect, so we walk the patient and their family through treatment to make them as safe and independent as possible. Sometimes patients seem hopeless to begin with, but seeing them improve in their status is very rewarding.”

Devin sustained major injuries to the upper region of his body, including traumatic brain injuries. South Central’s board certified physical therapist, Kyle Crager, is a board certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy who assisted in Devin’s recovery process.

“Neurology effects many parts of the body,” said Crager. “In therapy, we work with all specialties to make sure the patient is able to restore their functions of daily living. At South Central Rehabilitation Services, we have therapists with advanced certifications to help patients recover from injuries. And when a patient recovers, it is very rewarding to see people progress and regain independence.”

One year later, Devin tells his story. “Immediately after the accident, it was terrible. I could not do anything on my own. I came home in a wheelchair and I did not want that, but look at me now. I am walking.”

Devin attributes much of his recovery success to his friends – Kyle, Laura and Janna. “Kyle helped me a lot. My favorite part of therapy is working out with Kyle. Laura and Janna are like my sisters. Laura taught me how to cook. Janna taught me how to talk again. My talking is improving each time I go to therapy. I am proud of that.”

Sandra closed by saying, “I am so thankful for the team at South Central Rehabilitation Services. They make us feel like part of their family. It is amazing what God has shown us and done through Devin. We are grateful for everyone’s support along this journey.” Devin closed by clearly and loudly stating, “South Central Rehab, thank you!”

South Central Rehabilitation Services offers three convenient locations to serve our patients. Treatment locations are available in Laurel, Ellisville and Taylorsville. To learn more about rehabilitation services, click here.