Joey's recovery moves up to next step

Betty Jacobsen clasped her grandson Joey's hand in her own and smiled at the 10-year-old, tucked in his hospital bed under a handmade New England Patriots blanket.

"Gramma's here," she said with a smile. "How's my boy today?"

Joey smiled at his grandmother and blinked his eyes.

Three days later, on Monday, Joey was conversing with his father Tim about his preference for ribeye steak.

Six weeks after suffering critical brain injuries in a woodcutting accident, the Minden fifth grader's recovery has amazed but not surprised his family and friends.

"It's just amazing he's done what he's done," said Robbi Jacobsen, Joey's mother. "They told us we needed a miracle and we got one."

"We believe" became the family's motto on signs and ribbons displayed all over Carson Valley and Joey's "wing" at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno.

The Jacobsens are preparing to move Joey to a rehabilitation center in California.

He underwent surgery Sunday to restore a piece of skull that was removed as doctors relieved pressure on his brain and was cleared to move up to the next phase of his recovery.

"It's just been a roller coaster of emotion," Robbi Jacobsen said. "Sometimes it seems like it happened 10 years ago. It's been a long time since we've talked or laughed with Joey."

On Nov. 22, Joey was woodcutting in Markleeville with his father when a tree fell on him.

He was taken by CareFlight to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno where his parents, family and friends have maintained a bedside vigil.

The Jacobsens are taking that into consideration as they plan the next step in Joey's recovery.

They visited rehabilitation centers in Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Clara.

"It was somewhat overwhelming," Robbi Jacobsen said. "It's such a huge decision, there's no way anyone could be prepared for it. Joey's going to need all the rehabilitation services offered. We want to take him to the best facility there is. If that's on the moon, so be it."

Jacobsen said the family is leaning toward the Oakland facility which would be about 200 miles from their home in Minden.

"You have to find one that works for you and your family, where you know your child would be comfortable. Logistically, Oakland makes the most sense," she said.

The Jacobsens are mindful of the importance family and friends have played in their son's recovery. They estimated 30-40 people a day have stopped by Joey's room at Renown.

Many of the visitors are Joey's classmates at Minden Elementary School and his teammates from Little League.

"It's important the kids in his class see him getting better," Robbi Jacobsen said. "This has been awfully scary."

The community has rallied around the Jacobsens, one of Carson Valley's pioneer families.

Friends are bringing meals to the hospital and have cared for Joey's 14-year-old brother Timmy while his parents are at the hospital.

"Timmy is a huge part of the equation," Jacobsen said. "With Joey in Oakland, we would be able to go back and forth and see Timmy often."

Plans call for Robbi Jacobsen to stay in Oakland with Joey and Tim Jacobsen to spend most of the week in Minden with Timmy and travel to the rehabilitation center on weekends.

They have no idea how long Joey would be there.

"That depends on Joey," Robbi Jacobsen said.

When Joey was hurt, his injuries were categorized as "devastating," she said.

"It was one of the worst brain injuries doctors have seen where the child has survived," she said. "The road ahead will be long, with peaks and valleys. That's the way brain injuries work. It's a well-traveled path that lots of other families have been down before."

The Jacobsens said they don't spend time or energy asking themselves why.

"There's no point," Robbi Jacobsen said. "We'll never have an answer. Why waste our energy trying to figure out why bad things happen?"

Tim Jacobsen said the family would never be able to thank the people who have dropped off gifts for Joey or offered prayers for his recovery.

"At one point, our only hope was to believe that Joey would get better," he said. "You have to make a conscientious decision how you'll handle this or you go crazy. Nobody would let us not believe or stay down in the dumps. It's not good for us and it's not good for Joey."

He pointed to the line of Little League Pirates' baseball caps outside Joey's room and the treats and gifts brought by friends and strangers.

"Everybody's a Pirate now," he said.

From the security staff that brought Joey a specially-ordered Louisville Slugger baseball bat to a volunteer they only know as "Roxie" who brings her children to visit on her days off, the Jacobsens can't say enough about the hospital staff.

"The staff has been phenomenal," Robbi Jacobsen said. "They cry when we cry, they rejoice when we rejoice."

The accident and the aftermath have strengthened the Jacobsen family.

"I don't shake hands anymore," Tim Jacobsen said. "I need hugs. If anything, this has only made my faith stronger. I guess I would tell people to continue to pray and to continue to believe."

The Jacobsens have gathered strength from the thousands of messages friends and strangers have posted on Joey's Caring Bridge Web site.

"We read it every day," Tim Jacobsen said.

Robbi's nephew Jeremy Houser took it upon himself to provide daily updates on Joey's condition. More than 70,000 visits have been recorded at the site and 3,000 messages have been left for the family.

"We could never, ever thank the community enough," Robbi Jacobsen said. "They've gotten us through it. A lot of people say that Minden and Gardnerville got to be such a big community, but that small-town desire to help has been there all the time. Joey woke it up."

Someday soon, the Jacobsens hope to explain to Joey how he brought the community together.

"He's a hero," his father said, fighting back tears. "He brought so many people together. I hope some day he uses this experience and what he was given to give back to others."

"The most important thing Joey can get out of this is the belief in the goodness of people," his mother said. "We've all been given so much. Somehow, if he could give back."