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It has been more than four months now since Carson Pierce, of Windsor, was involved in a serious car accident that left him in critical condition. He has made significant strides on his path to recovery, with a family and community that have continued to support him every step of the way.

As his mother, Melissa Pierce, shared in a November 2024 interview, it was on Sept. 25 that the car accident occurred.

“It had been raining that morning, and it was pretty foggy, and we’re not 100% sure exactly what happened, but I think that he went off the edge of the road on Old Myrtle Road, and his car flipped three times,” she said. “It was actually right in front of Western Branch Baptist Church on Old Myrtle Road.”

He was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in critical condition.

Melissa noted that he sustained three skull fractures, a clavicle fracture, a compression fracture in his T5 vertebra, a partially torn ligament in his neck, and he was diagnosed as having a severe traumatic brain injury.

“So we were in the (intensive care unit) for a week, and on the Tuesday before the week mark, he had some significant neuro changes and was actually taken into emergency surgery because he had increased swelling on his brain,” Melissa said. “And so they had to perform a craniectomy, and he had some hemorrhaging and so forth during the surgery, but they were able to get him stable.”

She said Carson, who turned 20 on Oct. 13, remained at Norfolk General until Oct. 23, which is when he was transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which is an inpatient rehabilitation center that specializes in traumatic brain injuries.

It was Nov. 6 when Melissa was sharing Carson’s story via an interview, and she noted then that he had been at the Shepherd Center for two weeks and was already making great strides.

“They have him up walking and working with physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy on a daily basis,” she said.

She noted that he had started following some commands.

“He is not talking coherently yet, but he has found his voice and is starting to verbalize some,” she said Nov. 6. “Like I said, it’s not anything that we’re able to understand yet, but the left side of his brain is where the most significant injury was, and that is your language and comprehension center, so it’s going to take some time to gain those functions back, but he is doing well. Definitely has a long road ahead of him.”

She said, “We have all the faith that he is going to come back to us as himself or very close to that.”

THE CONTINUING PATH TO RECOVERY

On Jan. 30, Melissa shared what has taken place since then.

“We were at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta until Dec. 13, at which time we were discharged and sent home,” she said. “We began outpatient therapy in Richmond at Sheltering Arms (Institute) on Dec. 20, and we will continue with therapy there for the foreseeable future.”

She noted that Sheltering Arms Institute is connected with Virginia Commonwealth University but is also its own freestanding facility.

“They’re very much so like the Shepherd Center in Atlanta,” she said. “They have a spine and brain rehabilitation inpatient program as well, but they also have the outpatient (offering), and so for outpatient, that’s why we decided to come home, just obviously being much closer to home and the ability to be able to get him there and so forth.”

Carson is also undergoing hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy in Norfolk.

“So that’s something that’s a little bit different,” Melissa said. “There are some good studies that show that hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments are very beneficial for individuals who have had traumatic brain injuries, especially those individuals who are younger. And so that’s something that we are trying out as well to try and get him everything possible that we can to get him back to himself.”

Melissa and her husband, Alan Pierce, both have full-time jobs, but their employers have proven to be accommodating amid these difficult circumstances. In the fall, Melissa and Alan switched back and forth between who was with Carson in Atlanta and who was home in Windsor providing some sense of normalcy for their 15-year-old daughter Kayden.

Now that Carson is back home in Windsor, his parents are taking turns transporting him to his therapy appointments, but they have additional help in the form of their own parents. Carson’s grandparents, Todd and Sandy Rose and Peggy and Damon Lane, are actively involved in helping him along his path to recovery.

He goes to Richmond three times a week for outpatient therapy, and he goes to Norfolk two to three times a week for the hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy.

Melissa said Carson has actually already graduated through physical therapy at Sheltering Arms but will continue with occupational therapy and speech therapy for the foreseeable future.

“From a physical standpoint what I can say is that he’s done fantastic even from the beginning of our time at Shepherd,” Melissa said. “Physically and walking and so forth he’s been great.

“The cognition and speech piece has definitely taken a bit longer, which is to be expected given the extent of his injuries,” she continued. While at the Shepherd Center, “he definitely was following commands that were given to him, but his voice was really more so just kind of some mumblings and so forth.”

She said he did not start talking until he arrived home the weekend of Dec. 14. 

“That was the first time that we actually were able to recognize a word that he had said,” she said. “He was actually calling the dog over to him, and he was trying to get her attention by snapping his fingers, and she wasn’t coming, and he finally just blurted out … ‘Here!’ to her.”

Melissa indicated that everyone has seen him make significant progress with his speech since that time.

“He is verbalizing a lot more,” she said. “We can tell that as far as cognition goes, he is recognizing familiar faces, he’s able to tell us who people are, he’s able to tell us what his needs are through communicating with us.”

She acknowledged that the clarity of communication is not at 100% yet.

“There’s definitely times that we’re still having a hard time understanding what he’s trying to communicate to us, but from Dec. 13 to now, he’s made significant strides in that language piece,” she said.

She also noted that the therapists seem very pleased with the progress he has made since he started seeing them at the end of December.

“When we went in to see them the first time, he was not saying very much,” she said. “And now he greets them, he tells them, ‘Thank you,’ he participates in therapy, he’s repeating words, he’s answering questions, he’s able to use pen and paper to copy some words and so forth.”

Melissa explained that most of the time, Carson’s memory seems strong in connection with anything that happened prior to the accident.

“As far as who people are, where places are, being able to tell me what his name is, when he was born, how old he is, where he lives — all of that stuff seems to be very much intact,” she said.

Less strong is his memory in connection with things that have happened since the accident.

“It just depends,” Melissa said. “Sometimes he’s able to remember little bits and pieces of things that I ask him that have happened in the recent past, but definitely more troublesome in that area, I would say.”

Though Carson’s ability to express his personality has been limited since the accident, Melissa noted that his family and friends are seeing glimpses of it.

“There are days that I look at him, and I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s Carson,’” she said. “And friends and family and individuals that have come to visit him and see him, they definitely see those glimpses of who Carson was shining through.”

She explained that some of his friends who visit him after not seeing him for a few days have been in the best position to spot little improvements.

“His personality is definitely starting to shine through, and we see it with his smile, and he was always just a little bit of a jokester, and we see that come through at home sometimes, just him being silly, and so it’s great when we’re able to see that,” Melissa said.

Patience continues to be of primary importance for Carson, his family and his friends as he navigates the path to recovery.

“As much as I wish that we could set a timetable to it, and they could tell us, ‘By X date, he’ll be doing X, Y and Z,’ that unfortunately is not the case with any brain injury typically,” Melissa said, “so it’s just kind of what he’s able to do and how quickly he’s able to do it.”

THE CONTINUING COMMUNITY RESPONSE

In the immediate period of time following Carson’s car accident, there was a tremendous outpouring of support from the Windsor community, and it has not abated since then.

Melissa listed some of the creative ways friends have continued to lend a helping hand to Carson and his family in their time of need.

“One of Carson’s good friends (Devin Skinner) did a raffle for a (German Shorthaired Pointer) puppy back in December,” she said. “So they raffled the puppy off, and all of the proceeds from that went to Carson.

“Isle of Wight County Schools, where Carson graduated from, they have a (career and technical education) program with their land lab, so they have a big farm where they raise farm animals, they plant crops and all sorts of different stuff, and it’s part of the (Future Farmers of America), and Carson was a student there in that program for two years,” Melissa continued. “And the teachers there do a Brunswick Stew sale every year, and this year they donated all of the proceeds from that sale to Carson. So that was great.

“A local family, they are friends of ours, they actually did a gun raffle, and they raffled off a gun, and all of the proceeds from that went to Carson,” she continued.

“There is a local church, Colosse Baptist Church, they are doing a Captain Bob’s fundraiser for us at the beginning of March, so the sales from those dinners will be presented to Carson,” she said.

The fundraiser is highlighted on the “Carson’s TBI Journey” Facebook page, which Melissa updates frequently to keep people apprised of Carson’s progress. The Captain Bob’s fundraiser will take place March 1 from 4-6 p.m. at Colosse Baptist Church, which is located at 6361 Rhodes Drive in Windsor. Those donating will receive a meal that includes a fried pork chop, macaroni and cheese, green beans and a roll.

To donate through the purchase of tickets, contact the church at 757-562-6351, Colossebc@gmail.com or via its Facebook page.

“Lots of ticket sales are happening, so it’s appearing that that’s going to be a great benefit for him,” Melissa said.

Mike Luter, a longtime friend of Carson’s who has also been his baseball coach, employer and volunteer coordinator, is working on a future benefit idea for him that is in the planning phase, Melissa said. It could potentially be something like a polar plunge.

“So obviously the community support has continued and been fantastic,” she said. “There was a meal train that was set up for us from the time that we arrived home, and that’s still ongoing.”

The meal train was arranged by Susan Parsain.

“The support with family and friends that have provided dinner for us since this has happened has been amazing and extremely helpful with us being on the road five days a week in all reality given that we’re in Richmond a couple of days and then Norfolk a couple of days,” Melissa said. “So that’s been amazing as well.”

HOW PEOPLE CAN CONTINUE TO HELP

For those who are looking for ways to continue helping Carson and the Pierce family, they can participate in the aforementioned Colosse Baptist Church’s Captain Bob’s fundraiser, and the GoFundMe campaign also continues to be active. It is accessible by going to GoFundMe.com and searching for the campaign titled, “Support Carson’s Road to recovery & the Pierce Family.”

Additionally, Melissa said, “Continued prayers and familiar faces do Carson great. So people just coming by and visiting him, we see a huge smile on his face, and he tries to be very interactive, so even just a visit is great.”

She said that if people want to reach out to set up a visit with Carson, they can contact her via her cellphone number, which is 757-618-0109.

“He loves visitors, and so those are probably some of the best medicine for him right now,” she said. “He just likes seeing those familiar faces and hanging out. So when his buddies come by and hang out, it’s always fun just to watch and be able to see him interact and engage with them.”