Doctor Says Lakeside High Student's Unusual Recovery 'Shocked' Him

When doctors at Grady Hospital's Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center removed a breathing tube from 15-year-old Thomas Sowell on Monday, they knew the condition of his brain injury was improving, said Dr. Sanjay Dhall, the hospital's chief of neurosurgery.

But when he immediately started talking and could answer questions, including what his name was, what year it was and what city he was in, it was a pretty big surprise.

"I was shocked," Dhall said. "I didn't expect him to respond as much as he did."

The moment represented an unusually quick turnaround for Sowell, who suffered a serious brain injury in a snowboarding accident in western North Carolina on Jan. 30 and was comatose for several days, only able to respond to painful stimulation by doctors. Though he has several weeks of rehabilitation ahead of him, friends and family yesterday called his improvement a miracle.

"We are in awe," Thomas' mother, Virginia Sowell, told Patch yesterday. "Everyone is just shocked and amazed."

Dhall said he's never seen a brain injury patient improve as quickly as Thomas. Even though, as a teenager, he was sure to have an easier time recovering than an older patient, Thomas' condition became more complicated after he was transported by ambulance from Asheville, NC, to the Marcus center on Feb. 1.

He developed a lung infection that seemed like pneumonia, which further threatened his life, Dhall said.

“We were having trouble getting oxygen to his brain because his lungs were so sick," he said.

Doctors were also worried about brain swelling, which Dhall said is common to the sort of brain injury Thomas suffered. The brain can swell to such a point that it can create problems similar to strokes, he said.

"I was very guarded with that, and I was very honest with his parents," Dhall said. “We actually see more problems with brain swelling with younger people, including children.”

But Thomas' lungs began to improve surprisingly fast, he said, and as they did, doctors decreased the the amount of drugs they were using to keep him sedated. Earlier this week, Thomas was able to respond to doctors' commands – a hopeful sign.

Then they felt comfortable enough to remove the breathing tube.

And then he started talking.

“That is something that’s unusual," Dhall said. "People with severe brain injuries tend to have a hard time recovering.”

Thomas still has a significant amount of work ahead of him, however, and his recovery isn't complete, the doctor said. It remains unclear if the injury caused more subtle problems, including short-term memory loss, which can be an issue for people who suffered far less severe brain injuries such as concussions.

“It’s definitely reasonable that he might have those kinds of problems," Dhall said.

Nonetheless, the fact that Thomas is awake, playing video games and giving television interviews is a stunning development.

"The key takeaway from this is that, A, we're very happy about how things turned out for Thomas, and, B, I'm very proud of the team that took care of him," Dhall said.