After 24 days at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Levi Patterson is being transferred to Atlanta to start rehabilitation.
Patterson, 19, has gone through many ups and downs as he battled for his life after an April 12 accident that occurred while he was working at Gibbs Die Casting.
Jama Patterson, Levi’s mother, wrote in a social medial post that he was scheduled to be transported to Shepherd Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Levi’s father, Chad Patterson, said the family was ecstatic that Levi will be moving to a rehabilitation center.
He said Levi continues to make progress every day. The past few days, physical therapists have been working with him on swallowing. He said Levi can swallow thicker liquid-like substances, like apple sauce, but is not doing as well with water.
Levi is also able to communicate with hospital staff through hand signals—thumbs up, one finger for yes and two fingers for no, Chad Patterson said. He also stood up on Tuesday, he said.
“(Doctors) say he’s progressing every day,” Chad Patterson said. “They’re optimistic he’ll make a full recovery. They’re hopeful but time will tell.”
His father said Levi’s next step will be 4-12 weeks of inpatient therapy at the rehabilitation center. After that, Chad Patterson hopes his son will be released for outpatient rehab at the family’s home.
It has been a rocky journey for Levi, as detailed in a previous Hendersonian article. He’s gone through skin grafts, an emergency craniotomy in which a section of his skull in the back of his head was removed so that fluid that had built up could be drained and relieve pressure on his brain. During that procedure, doctors found evidence of numerous strokes on Levi’s brain.
He also had double pneumonia at one point during his recovery and his oxygen levels went way down, causing him to be moved from the burn unit to the medical unit, said his father in a previous article.
The night of the accident, April 12, there was a machine malfunction at the plant and Levi was exposed to cyanide, with a temperature of 1,000 degrees, and Levi had chemical and thermal burns, according to several sources.
Chad said the accident occurred early in the morning, around 3-3:30 a.m. When emergency responders arrived at Gibbs, Levi’s heart stopped beating but paramedics resuscitated him at the scene and rushed him to Deaconess Henderson Hospital where the life flight was waiting to transport him to Vanderbilt.
But when Levi was in the helicopter waiting to take off, his heart stopped beating again and paramedics rushed him inside the hospital, where he was resuscitated again, Chad Patterson said.
“So, he died twice,” Chad Patterson said. Levi was then flown to Vanderbilt and has been there since until Wednesday’s journey to Atlanta, which will be handled by a medical transportation provider.
Chad and Jama will continue staying by Levi’s side, taking turns flying home while the other remains with him at the rehabilitation center.
“We won’t leave him alone,” Chad Patterson said.