Jessie Cooper

Jessie's Home!

2009-03-08T15:41:00.002-05:00

My apologies for not updating this in quite some time. My login wasn't working and it took awhile to get that straightened out. But enough about that, because Jessie's home!

She got to go home this past Tuesday and she will remain there until she is ready to go down to Atlanta to begin her physical rehab at Good Sheperd. So you can call her or visit her at home in Covington for the next couple of weeks, at least. I'm sure that she would greatly appreciate that.

Update: New Year's Edition

2009-01-03T18:24:00.003-06:00

So much has happened in the last few days, it is almost difficult to keep it all straight.

A few days ago, Jessie had her C-collar removed and then her trach tube was taken out. I've been sick the last week, so I haven't had a chance to witness it, but everyone has told me that she has been speaking in her "normal" voice once again. As if that isn't enough good news, she has continued to wiggle her toes for visitors and hospital staff, as well.

Finally, they moved her to a new room in the rehabilitabion wing, A-312, which is on the third floor in the Adams building across the street from where she had been to this point. If you haven't visited her there yet, press the button outside the glass doors and they will let you in or ask someone at one of the stations in the Jefferson building for assistance, if you are unsure how to get there.

Praise God for his blessings on Jessie, as well as her family and friends to this point. Let us continue to seek Him out daily as she continues to show progress and gets closer and closer to that day when she will get out of bed and walk again.

Boston Butt Benefit

2008-12-09T09:35:00.004-06:00

Boston Butts on sale for Christmas!!!

The Bald Butcher in Covington will be cooking Boston Butts to raise money for Jessie. They are $30.00 each and you will need to get your order in and paid for by December 15th for delivery on December 20th. All the proceeds will go to Jessie's trust fund, so make sure that you tell your family, your friends, your co-workers and neighbors.

Contact Dean, Nick or Kim to get your order in. You can pay them directly with cash or check by the 15th, or you can use the Paypal button to the right to pay. If you use Paypal, make sure that they know that's how you have paid.

Dean: 827-5195
Nick: 491-1132
Kim: 828-9177

Update for 12/4

2008-12-04T21:22:00.002-06:00

I just got back home from visiting Jessie. Alex, Tracy and her parents were all there and they all agreed that she's making great progress. It is so great to actually see her off the ventilator now. There is no word yet on how much longer she'll be in the hospital, but I'm being told that it will likely be until after Christmas. In any case, I thank God that she's getting better with each passing day and I want to thank all of you that have continued to provide support and prayers for Jessie. She's blessed to have each and every one of you in her life.

Update for 12/2

2008-12-02T21:17:00.001-06:00

Jessie is now off the ventilator! Praise the Lord! She's pretty much breathing on her own now and looks much better. Thank God for the progress that she is making!

Update for 11/11

2008-11-11T13:38:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updates last week. I've been unusually busy and have been experiencing occasional internet problems as well.

Jessie was moved out of Trauma Step-down last week on Wednesday to the 4th floor (Room B-451) where she has visiting hours from 9:00AM to 8:30PM. Now she can have as many visitors as she wants, which is a pleasant improvement. In the visits since her move took place, she has looked much better, even as she continues to battle a mysterious fever.

I want to thank all of you for your continued prayers and support.

Benefit at the Bald Butcher

2008-11-03T22:54:00.003-06:00

The benefit yesterday at the Bald Butcher in Covington (opening soon!) was a great success. Plenty of people turned out to buy barbecue, get balloon animals and have their faces painted. Just as it happened for the last fund raiser, the local community turned out to show their support for one of their own. This is the kind of thing that helps restore one's faith in humanity.

We wish to recognize the following supporters who helped make all this happen on Sunday by donating food, games and services:

Len Billings, owner/operator of The Bald Butcher
Valerie and Cheryl Wortham (Balloons and Face Painting)
Broadway Baptist Church of Southaven, MS (Games, Drinks and Candy)
Starbucks of Southaven, MS (Food for the Cake Walk)

Benefit/Fund Raiser This Weekend

2008-10-31T11:18:00.000-05:00

When: Sunday, November 2, 2:00 - 6:00

Where: The Bald Butcher in Covington, in the old Super D parking lot.

Food: BBQ, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, desserts

There will be balloon animals, face painting and games with prizes for the kids, a Cake Walk, and music from Jimmy Vandergrift. We hope to see all of you there!

Benefit Concert and Auction

2008-10-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

On Saturday the family and friends of Jessie Cooper showed up in the parking lot of the Wal-mart in Covington to put on a benefit concert and auction to help raise funds for her. On the south end was the concession stand and dessert table that had a steady line all day long. The band played on the main stage next to the auction tables, while the kids played on the moon bounce that was provided free of charge. In fact, everything was donated by people and businesses from the surrounding area, as they lent a helping hand. Many people stopped by to listen to the band, buy food from the concession stand or bid on items at the auction. Some just sought out family members to offer their support or to make a donation. The event was very successful and raised over $3000 for Jessie's fund. Enjoy the slideshows and spread the word along about Jessie to everyone you know. : )

An Overdue Update and a Reminder

2008-10-17T10:45:00.000-05:00

Time to get everyone caught up on what has been happening with Jessie this week. She has been alert and responsive all week, smiling and laughing at our goofy jokes and shenanigans during visitation hours.

A few days ago, the doctors and nurses started doing some physical rehabilitation, so she has been a little tired during the evening visits, but the improved mobility in her arms has been very encouraging. She's dealing with a bug right now that has caused her temperature to fluctuate, but it isn't anything serious.

Jessie's parents are working on getting things in order so that she can finally be transported down to Atlanta. As with everything in life, red tape continues to block that avenue, but only for so long.

Tomorrow is the big benefit concert and silent auction at the Wal-mart in Covington, from 11:00 - 3:30, so I expect everyone to come out and offer their support in any way that they can. Her family and friends will all be there pitching in and participating in the singing and playing of instruments. I'll be there taking pictures to put on here for everyone to see all the happenings of the big event. So load up the family, make the trip down Highway 51 tomorrow, and support Jessie in her journey to walk again.

Fund Raisers

2008-10-14T09:35:00.000-05:00

The first of many fund raisers will be this Saturday, October 18 from 11:00 AM - 3:30 PM at the Wal-Mart in Covington. It will be a benefit concert with a silent auction. We will be auctioning off items that have been donated by local establishments in and around the Covington area.

There will be a moon bounce for the kids to play on, and hotdogs, hamburgers, drinks and all the fixins for everyone to enjoy.

Also, we are working on getting a benefit softball tournament together. We will let you know more details about that in the near future.

If anybody has ideas and wants to do a fund raiser, then make it happen. We need all the help that we can get.

Come out and support Jessie and her family in this time of need.

If you have any questions, call 901-827-5195.

Thanks again,

Dean & Tracy

Paypal is now available!

2008-10-13T23:17:00.000-05:00

From Dean Allen:

It is finally here! Now you can donate online by using the Paypal Donate Button in the top right-hand corner of the page.

My wife and I challenge everyone that views this website and blog posts to match our donation of $100.00. Your donation will go to my Paypal account and will be deposited into her trust fund via an electronic transfer.

Jessie is going to need every dollar that we can raise to offset the living expenses for herself and her parents. The will be departing for Atlanta, GA soon to start her rehabilitation at Sheperd Center. Her family has lost three incomes since the accident and have bills to pay, not to mention the travel and living expenses they will be incurring while she is there.

Her family and I thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the prayers and money that has been raised so far. Keep it coming -- she will need all we can give and then some.

Thanks

Dean & Tracy
(Jessie's Adopted Parents)

October 8th - An Indomitable Spirit

2008-10-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

I'm going to break from the merely factual today to tell everyone about what happened last night and how it affected everyone there.

When I last saw Jessie on Monday night, she was awake, alert and sassy as can be. I wasn't able to make it to the hospital on Tuesday, but what I heard from Alex was that she was sedated for much of the day and was largely unresponsive after having her lungs suctioned to remove the junk that has been clogging up her airways and causing her pneumonia. That "there, but not there" feeling continued through yesterday afternoon when I arrived for the 5:00 visiting hour.

When Alex, Nick, Kim and I entered the room, we could see that she wasn't quite with us. Here eyes didn't really focus on anything in the room and she didn't respond to anything that we said. After a few short minutes, she began to cough up some of the phlegm, so we got one of the nurses to suction out her mouth. Then she started to vomit, which led to more nurses coming in. She began to distress, since she couldn't get enough oxygen, so they called for a respiratory team. We all left the room at that point, so that the medical staff could do their job. As doctors began pouring out of the woodwork, we heard that she had crashed and then we heard the word "flatline". The staff first called her parents, Norman and Sandra, into the ward, then they came back out and they had Alex and Nick go in to witness what was happening.

As Nick later told us, it isn't anything like you see on TV when they are trying to bring someone back to life. It's not just one shock from the defibrillator paddles, a big gasp and then they are back with you. It is a heart-wrenching process to watch them bring someone back from the brink of death. That's why the doctors want a family member present -- so that they can see what is required every time a patient crashes. Eventually, the team got her back to breathing again after they inserted a new, longer trachea tube. Nick told us that she fought with everything that she had to claw her way back -- that it would have been much easier to just succumb to the fading light.

The trauma surgeon then came out to explain everything that happened to the family and friends that were gathered in the waiting room. She was very honest about what did happen and why she thinks it happened. Near the end of her explanation, she came to the portion that nobody really wanted to hear. She said that Jessie was effectively in a coma and that there was no way to tell when or if she would wake up from it. She said that as her brain began to fire off again, that there might be jerky movement in her limbs, but that we shouldn't look to that as recovery of any sort. Obviously, that left the room with a rather grim outlook to settle on everyone's shoulders.

We all gathered around and prayed. Some prayed for God to heal Jessie completely as an example of His miraculous abilities. Others prayed for her to not have any brain damage as a result of this latest crash. I prayed for God's will to be done in her life, because I believe that His will is a perfect will and will result in what is best for everyone, including Jessie.

After a short time, the doctor allowed Norman, Sandra and Alex to go into the room to see her. The rest of us waited tensely in the hallway, hoping for the best, but just praying that it wouldn't be the worst. When they came out, all three of them had a certain gleam in their eyes. Norman told us that Jessie was moving her arms -- and not in the jerky fashion that the doctor had warned us about. She was moving her arms because she wanted to. We all went down to the cafeteria to wait for the 9:00 visiting hour with hope renewed.

As we all took our turn going in to see her at the next allotted time, each report was the same: "She's awake, she knows that we're there." When my turn came, I went into the room just hoping to see some sign of life from her. She blew past that level of expectation and just kept on going. Rather than the dull stare that I had seen mere hours before, her eyes danced a little at the sight of people she knew. She smiled for us when we asked her to and she tried to laugh as best as she could when we told her jokes. She moved her free arm with renewed strength as we stood there talking to her. At one point, she even blew a kiss at Alex. If there had been any doubt before, her fighting spirit washed it all away. I believe that all of us walked out of that room and that hospital last night with a greater appreciation for what God can do and just how strong that young lady in that hospital bed is.

I ask that all of you continue to pray for her, her family, her friends and her co-workers. We all need strength to continue to go through this each day. I say this to each of you, because I believe that it needs to be said. God is not done with Jessica Cooper yet. If it was her time to go, then there have been ample opportunities for God to take her to be with Him. She is a fighter with an indomitable spirit and I'm not going to be the one to put any limitations on her or on what God can do for her, with her or through her.

Making Donations to the Jessica Cooper Trust Fund

2008-10-06T11:26:00.000-05:00

If you would like to make donations to Jessie's trust fund, here is the information:

Brighton Bank - Account# 0110065401

Make checks payable to Dean Allen or Care of Dean Allen, then put Jessie Cooper Trust Fund in the Memo line.

To make an electronic transfer, use the account number above and the bank's routing number - 084303338.

The Details

2008-10-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

Jessie Cooper is an EMT-IV with a wonderful family and great friends and co-workers.

On September 26, Jessie was in a car accident on Mt. Carmel Rd. Her car jumped a ditch, hit a fence and then flipped. The roof was crushed and pinned her head down, breaking her neck. At that time, she was aware that she was paralyzed from the chest down and was able to assist the emergency personnel who arrived on the scene with diagnosing her injuries. She was airlifted to The Med, where she was taken to the Trauma Ward.

She spent the first few days in the Trauma ICU and then had surgery to reset her broken neck and to verify that there was no serious damage to her spinal cord. After that, she was sent upstairs to the Trauma Step-Down Ward, where she remains right now. As soon as she is cleared to, she will be transported down to Atlanta to the Shepherd Center to begin rehabilitation so that she can learn how to take care of herself and to walk again.