GRAND RAPIDS -- DJ Little dreams of being a paleontologist or an archaeologist someday.
But first, he has set his sights on a goal close at hand: walking across the stage at his eighth-grade graduation ceremony.
When he does, each step will be a triumph, brought about by the love and dedication of his parents, therapists, teachers and, most of all, DJ’s strong will.
DJ, a 15-year-old Alger Middle School student, was hit by a car five and a half years ago. He suffered a broken left femur, a severe neck injury, internal bruising and a traumatic brain injury.
Since the accident, he has had to relearn everything: how to sit up, swallow food, feed himself, talk and, now, how to walk.
”Somebody was a little bit more stubborn than what the doctors thought,” said his mom, Lisa Shockey. She recalled how medical staff first predicted DJ would not survive more than 24 hours and, if he did, he would be “a vegetable.”
DJ, asked how he has managed to come so far, had a ready response.
”I never give up,” he said, his words coming slow but sure. “I didn’t give up on life.”
DJ will be one of nine eighth-graders from Alger’s POHI program -- for physically and otherwise health-impaired students -- taking part in the end-of-school ceremony Thursday (June 2) with the 150 general education students. The crossing-over ceremony marks their transition to Ottawa Hills High School.
”I’m so excited for him,” said Liesha Crawford. who has taught DJ for four years. “He really, really, really has learned more than we ever thought he would.”
D.J. Little suffered brain injury in 2005 when he was hit by a car and now is re-learning to do everything. Little has been practicing with a walker and with a cane, and plans to walk in his "crossing over ceremony," when he graduates from eighth grade at Alger Middle School on June 2. Watch video
The accident that changed DJ’s life happened on Dec. 3, 2005, when the family lived on Brooks Street in Muskegon Township. Ten-year-old DJ (David James)was a fourth-grader, a bright, inquisitive kid with an outgoing personality. He was so analytical that his father, Darren Shockey, said he talked to DJ as an adult.
DJ was crossing the street in front of his home when he was hit by a car. He spent the next month in a coma and a total of 10 months in hospitals and rehab centers before coming home.
His dad switched jobs, and his family moved to a one-story home in Kentwood to be closer to the medical care at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. DJ has undergone 17 operations -- repairing his elbow, leg and neck, getting a skin graft and other procedures -- and has his 18th planned for this summer.
His parents were told DJ probably would get as far as he could in his first year post-accident, but he has far exceeded that prediction.
When Sarah Willson, a physical therapist with Harbor Rehabilitation, met DJ four years ago, he was unable to roll over in bed without help. On a recent afternoon, she helped him stand up and grasp a cane, then coached him as he picked up his feet one at a time and moved forward, one slow step after another.
”Last week was the first time DJ made a full lap around the house,” Willson said, as they walked past the kitchen island. “Which just goes to show you, even four years after a brain injury, you can keep improving and progressing.”
Lisa Shockey credits the therapy DJ has received. He has physical and occupational therapy twice a week and speech therapy once a week at home. He also has therapy sessions at school, along with his academic subjects.
DJ’s hand shook on the cane at times, and his face was a study of concentration. But when someone praised his progress, he grinned.
Although his parents were cautioned his personality might change with the brain injury, they still see the same curious mind -- and especially his sense of humor. He still loves dinosaurs and country music. Thanks to his grandmother, he has a collection of signed photographs of country music stars.
”He has a wonderful sense of humor,” Crawford said. “I don’t think he’d be as far as he is if he didn’t.”
Because DJ has little short-term memory, making progress takes lots of effort and repetition.
”Getting anything into his long-term memory is unbelievably hard,” Crawford said.
She kept DJ for a second year of eighth grade because he made such progress last year. He went from not knowing that he had a binder to remembering to bring it to class and go through it to see what work needs to be done. He is working on multiplication facts. And he uses a color-coded system to distinguish nouns and verbs.
”He can verbalize his answers,” Crawford said. “He has great conversations. He’s very opinionated and he’s not afraid to tell you his opinion.”
DJ will continue in the POHI program at Ottawa -- and he looks forward to seeing his friends who have already moved onto high school.
This summer, his goal is to walk around the block. And he can’t wait ride the bike he ordered through Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.
What lies ahead in the long-term is anyone’s guess, his mother said.
”We just take it one day at a time,” she said. “And thank God for all the little miracles.”
”And the big one,” DJ reminded her with a smile. “Me.”
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