Every once in a while you meet someone that makes you stop and think about your life. Jared Weiland is one of them. Jared was a healthy eighteen year old senior at Patrick County High School when a Monday morning headache turned out to be a ruptured arteriovenous malformation. After being airlifted from the school, Jared spent the next 7 weeks at Roanoke Memorial Hospital in the Neurotrauma ICU. A catastrophic stroke had caused significant damage to his brain. It was unknown whether he would regain consciousness. He then went to R. J. Reynolds - Patrick Community Hospital in his hometown of Stuart, VA to wait for an opening in the Coma Stimulation Program at Carolinas Rehabilitation in Charlotte, NC. While still in Stuart, he began to look at things moving in the room, tracking. After much prayer and encouragement, he gave a "thumbs-up" sign. It truly was a miracle. That "thumbs-up" has become Jared's signature. He spent two months in Charlotte before finally going home to continue his long journey of rehabilitation. There were friends and family, visiting nurses and therapists, and there was much prayer. And then there was laughter. Some movement, recognition, and more prayer. He was making such improvement. Very slowly, but  it was inspiring. There were bumps along the way, some little, some overwhelming. But to this day, five years later, Jared continues to improve. His family and friends are so thankful.
In the fall of 2004, Jared spent 7 weeks in rehab at Lewis Gale Hospital in Salem, VA.  So often you hear of bad experiences that people have with the health care system. This has never been the case for the Weiland's. They have received the most comprehensive, compassionate care. The goal of this rehab visit was to allow Jared to be able to return to school. The referral was made for an evaluation for an augmentative communication device. You can read more about this on the Public Speaking  page. Jared was finally back in school! It was only for a few hours a day at first. PCHS has the most caring, dedicated faculty and staff, and the kindest students. Jared and his family explain his stroke, his limitations, and his abilities; it makes everyone more comfortable. Jared's friends are the greatest, both the new friends he's made, and his peers that have gone on to college, work, and starting families of their own. 

Jared is now trying to find work. He's looking for a job to keep him busy a few days a week. He recently spent three days in a trial position as a host for a fast food restaurant. The job requires independent mobility, which has been so limited until he got a power wheelchair. He can get around on his own now, except that the chair won't fit in his families car. They are now in search of a conversion van. Jared is still getting used to being able to get things for himself, going from one room to another independently. He has had to rely on others for so long, the chair is a Godsend. He is also excited about a new mounting device for his computer. It's from Blue Sky Designs, a small, innovative, design company; it's called a Mount'n Mover. Jared's current mount traps him in his chair and he can't move it himself. He has to get a new mount for the power chair; this one can be used independently, tilting, or swinging out of the way. Now he can always have his device with him.
For fun, Jared enjoys watching sports, going to the pool or the movies, working out with his trainer, and most of all, hanging out with his friends. He's excited about a new adaptive tricycle from Freedom Trike that he should be getting soon. This is also a small company, designing a product to improve the quality of life for a small number of a people. Jared received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation to help with the purchase of the trike . It will be fun to ride on the track at the high school. The trike is just one more thing Jared is wanting to make money for; he's always been a hard worker and that is one thing that hasn't changed. Riding will be a nice social outlet, and more enjoyable than physical therapy.
If you would like to help with the purchase of a van or the trike, you can do so here: