Critically Injured Lakeside High Student Awake, Talking to Parents

Thomas Sowell, the student critically injured in a snowboarding accident last week, is awake and speaking to his parents at Grady Hospital – a dramatic improvement his mother called miraculous Wednesday.

"We are in awe," she said. "Everyone is just shocked and amazed."

Doctors at the hospital's Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center removed a breathing tube from Thomas yesterday, said his mother, Virginia Sowell. He quickly began answering a doctor's questions, and his condition has improved from critical to stable. The change in condition is extraordinary, she said, considering doctors initially believed his brain injury, which threatened his life, could have required two years of recovery.

"We kind of laughed because he didn't realize how many days he'd been asleep," Virginia Sowell said from the hospital.

Thomas, 15, suffered serious head trauma after he fell while snowboarding with his Boy Scouts troop in western North Carolina on Jan. 30. He had been wearing a helmet when he fell. He was taken to a hospital in Asheville, NC, in critical condition and was transported by ambulance to Grady Hospital the following day. He has been unconscious since the accident but began physically responding to doctors several days ago.

His situation was serious, however, and his parents kept friends, family and community members updated through a blog, Pray for Thomas S., run by Gary Guerino, who is involved with Thomas' scouting troop. His mother asked community members to pray last Friday after doctors discovered he had a lung infection and his blood oxygen level was low.

Thomas will soon be transferred to the Shepherd Center, an Atlanta hospital that specializes in brain injury rehabilitation, Virginia Sowell said. A specialist there who observed Thomas said he could be out of the center as soon as two weeks from now, and he could be completely recovered perhaps as early as December. But doctors remain unsure how the injury could affect Thomas' brain in the long-term, she said.

After waking, Thomas asked his father for his chemistry book, which he had been reading while on his scouting trip because he has a book report due, she said. He had no recollection of the accident or the Boy Scouts trip.

Community members to support the Sowell family last week. They filled on Feb. 2 for a prayer service dedicated to Thomas. He also received hundreds of cards, which were placed in his hospital room, Virginia Sowell said.

"I'm so grateful... for all the prayers," she said. "People have been so unbelievably supportive almost to the point that we were just embarrassed. The fact that we have this kind of community support is just a huge testament to where we live."

Many community members posted messages of love and prayer on the blog after it posted news of his improvement.

"I announced the good news at the Lakside [High] PTSA meeting tonight," a user named Barbara wrote yesterday. "There was loud applause. We are all rejoicing with you. I asked everyone there to keep praying. The Lakeside community is ready, willing and able to help in any way you need."

"This is wonderful news. We will keep the prayers flowing," wrote a user named William Higgins. "I encourage others to do the same. Welcome back Thomas."

Virginia Sowell also credited the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center for Thomas' recovery. The center, which has only been open about a year, was created with a $20 million donation from The Marcus Foundation chaired by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot.

"We're so fortunate to have gotten to be here," Virginia Sowell said.

Thomas' primary doctor, Sanjay Dhall, was not immediately available for an interview, said a Grady Health System spokeswoman.