Welcome to Whit's End Publishing! This small mom-pop corporation has but one objective:
To get the writings of our son Jan into print.
When Jan was 17 years old he suffered a severe brain shear injury from which doctors said he could not recover. His mother Marijke and father John believed differently and 11 years later (February 12) Jan's doctors called his recuperation miraculous (details below).
He returned home after nine months of rehab but continued his studies with considerable difficulty. Although Jan still has significant physical and mental hurdles to overcome before he can hold down a full time job, his facility with the English language survived the accident. Since people should always go to their strengths, his father enrolled Jan in a course on writing for children. As a result of that course he ended up writing a short book about a skateboarding boy who gets in to the futureа and has to find his way back home.
аThe rest, as they say, is history.а Encouraged by many who read JanТs book, his folks decided to get it published.а If you think you or a friend would enjoy reading about what life might be like for a twelve year old boy 50 years from now, we hope youТll order one or several.
To order Jan's first book ( more to come!), clickаon the picture. For a sample of Jan's writing and to learn about Jan himself, click on the picture.
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The Skiing Accident and Recovery:
On 12 February 1996 when he was 17 and a half years old, Jan suffered a severe brain sheer injury, a basal skull fracture, a broken arm and a broken pelvic bone while skiing. Surgery was done to repair his arm and pelvic bones but he remained in a coma for four months. On father's day, 16 June 1996 he was officially declared to have come out of the coma when he was barely able to repeat the words "yes", "no" and "mom".
At that time Jan was at the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center in Charlotesville, Virginia where he had been taken after 2 months at UVA hospital. During those first 2 months he had a number of setbacks because a gauze was accidentally left in his large hip wound and became seriously infected. The third week of March 1996 he went into septic shock and cardiac arrest. A nurse was standing right over him when his heart stopped and the doctors were able to react and restart it quickly. A week later the same thing almost happened again before the gauze was discovered and removed. When restarting Jan's heart and stabilizing his body, lines were inserted into the two main leg veins/arteries which run through the pelvic region. The one in his left leg caused a large 17" blood clot to develop down to his knee. As a consequence, his leg had to be kept immobile to prevent the blood clot from breaking off and migrating to his heart or lung. In May 1996 he began to bleed internally and developed two large hematomas, probably because of the blood thinners being used to keep the blood clot from growing larger. Since his leg was immobilized his brain caused a large piece of bone to grow (heterotopic ossification) in front of his hip joint. This causes considerable restriction in his leg movement.
It would take several pages to list all the improvements that Jan made in the first two years after his accident but some highlights included: his brain was able to regulate his heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, etc. once again; the irregular bone formation has stopped growing; the blood clot & hematomas were re-absorbed by his body; he could read and speak coherently; he was able to eat everything well; his eyes moved and functioned well; he no longer had involuntarily leg and arm movements (posturing); he could move his head from side to side easily; his long term memory was intact and his short term memory had improved; he was off all medication; his vocabulary knowledge and usage was intact; he recognized everyone; his personality and character traits were intact; he had come out of the Уuninhibited stateФ; his vision and eye movements had been restored; his ability to taste and smell was restored; his natural concern for his mother's safety and his ability to express anger were restored; he was aware of the seriousness of his and other's injuries; his natural modesty was restored; his awareness of the passage of time (seasons/months/days/ hours) was restored; he was able to pull himself into a standing position from a wheelchair; he was able to stand & sit erectly.
Jan could walk short distances with a walker but with some difficulty. His balance was still deficient but he was making weekly progress in a number of areas. (Barely a year before he could not even hold his head upright for more than 20 seconds.) Even though he could not yet move around a lot and do all the things that he used to do, he was being a real trooper and maintained his good sense of humor, many times leaving others in stitches.
Jan would go to physical therapy three times a week and receive daily exercise at home. He had resumed a light home-school work schedule and had taken up fly fishing lessons to help improve the use of his hands and fingers.
Today (June 2007) Jan is able to walk up to five miles (it takes him about 4 hours) without falling. His range of motion in his legs and arms has improved. He underwent a serious operation at Georgetown University Hospital to remove most of the heterotropic ossification in his left pelvis so that he can almost squat completely.
Areas where he needs further improvement include increased speed in motor and mental processing including math and reading comprehension, increased voice projection, and improved concentration.