Bronson Battle Creek Hospital ER nurse, Jeff Robert’s journey to becoming a nurse was put on hold a semester into nursing school after surviving being hit by a car while jogging. He overcame some major debilitating injuries to eventually resume life as normal. He first became curious about a career as a nurse almost 20 years ago. “I was part of the 21st Century Health Program at the Calhoun County Tech Center,” Roberts explained. “This was a program that touched on many aspects of joining a health related field. After going through this program I realized I wanted to be a nurse. I graduated from Harper Creek High School in 2007, applied to KCC, and began taking the required prerequisites as a college freshman.”
Roberts received his certified nursing assistant (CNA) certificate in 2009 but would have to wait to work for higher credentials. “At the time I enrolled at KCC there was a long waiting list to get in the nursing program,” Roberts noted. “I started working at Battle Creek Health Systems, now Bronson Battle Creek Hospital, as a patient care assistant full time after receiving my CNA certificate, while I waited to get into the nursing program.” Roberts worked patiently for his opportunity to be accepted to KCC’s nursing school for four years, gaining experience as a CNA. “I was finally accepted into the nursing program in 2013,” Roberts recalled. “I dropped down to working only weekends at the hospital and focused on my classes during the week. Nursing school was very demanding with the time required for going to classes and studying.”
Roberts was working diligently and had just started his second term of nursing school when a major setback stalled his progress. “I had implemented a routine of running to stay healthy,” Roberts noted. “While out on my daily run on January 23 of 2014, a car hit a patch of ice and lost control before striking me. I was immediately knocked out. I was taken by ambulance from the scene to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. I don’t have any memories of being hit, or of anything from my time in the Bronson Trauma Unit. My first memory after the accident didn’t come until a month later.”
Roberts was in critical condition and sustained many injuries that were potentially life threatening or life changing. “I remained in a coma for a week after the accident,”Roberts said. “I sustained some pretty significant head trauma. I also fractured my hip, had bilateral lower spiral fractures in both legs, and had an open book pelvic fracture. Three separate surgeries were completed to put my hip back together. My pelvis was also fused back together. I still have hardware in my right hip. My legs eventually healed on their own and did not require surgery. My jaw and neck sustained fractures as well. I was bed ridden until the time I was sent to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Center in Grand Rapids four weeks after the accident. There was a period of time when my medical team didn’t know if my neurological or brain function would fully recover.”
Robert’s medical team could not predict his prognosis for the first few weeks but they continued to do all that they could to stabilize his condition and gave him a fighting chance for full recovery. “When I was physically ready for rehab my doctors sent me to Mary Free Bed. They were hopeful that intense therapy could help with a full recovery, but they didn’t know for sure,” Roberts explained. “I had occupational therapy, physical therapy, social therapy, cognitive therapy, and speech therapy while at Mary Free Bed, spending six hours a day with these therapies. It was an extremely intense process. This schedule remained the entire time I was at Mary Free Bed, for about six weeks.”
Roberts had to start from ground zero, learning many basic skills again, including talking, dressing himself, feeding himself, and walking. The support he received from each specialized therapist and from family members was crucial in his recovery but he wouldn’t have progressed if not for the work he put in everyday. By the time he was released from rehab he was out of the woods, and on his way back to a normal life but there was still work that remained. “When I was discharged from Mary Free Bed I was still in a wheelchair,” Roberts noted. “I was about 75% of the way back to full recovery. I went back home to live with my girlfriend, Ashley. I still needed 24 hour assistance at the time. If Ashley wasn’t available I went to my parents to stay. I also had to continue with physical therapy on an outpatient basis at Southwest Rehabilitation Center once a week. I was finally walking about six weeks after coming home. I continued with physical therapy for another month. By June, less than six months after the accident, I had fully recovered.”
Roberts had overcome physical trauma and a traumatic brain injury to become fully independent again. He was able to go back to work as a CNA at Bronson Battle Creek and he hoped to continue to pursue a nursing degree. “I was put back on a waiting list for nursing school," Roberts explained. “There were some who questioned whether or not I could handle the rigors of nursing school because of the trauma I had been through. I was finally placed back in nursing school in January of 2015. Nursing school was demanding before my accident but after all that I had been through with the accident, school was even more challenging. I was given some accommodations for testing. Nursing school is unlike anything and it was a great feeling to be done and also to accomplish this after everything I had experienced. I went back in 2017 online through Western Governor’s University to earn a BA in the science of nursing in 2018.”
After earning his nursing degree in 2016 Roberts started a full time career. “I began working in the ER at Bronson Battle Creek in May of 2016 as a brand new graduate nurse,” Roberts said. “I had planned on being a critical care nurse but ended up applying to the ER and accepting a job there. Working in the ER is definitely interesting. You never know what’s coming through the front door and you have to be prepared for anything. I like the fast pace of the ER. I can imagine myself working in the ER for years to come.”
Robert’s experience has given him a perspective on day to day life. “As it pertains to what life lessons have I learned,” Roberts reflected, “one of the biggest things that I have taken in is the importance of accepting each moment as it is and never taking anything for granted. Unfortunately I had to learn this the hard way.”
Roberts quickly resumed normal life after fully recovering from his accident. He and his girlfriend, Ashley were married after he started back to nursing school, on May 30, 2015. “We have three kids,” Roberts noted. “Braxton is 14, Ethan is 10, and Landon, our youngest, will be 8 in April. I have returned to running now and completed a half-marathon, which has helped to affirm my full recovery. I wish that I could run more but time doesn’t always allow it. Ashley doesn’t enjoy running as much as I do but she has supported me with this, running with me and completing some races with me.”
Like her husband, Ashley’s perspective on life would be forever changed after the accident. “I think our faith has been affirmed through all that Jeff has been through. We definitely could have gone down a totally different path. We are very grateful for the support that has been given to us.”
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