- [Chris] If you were to
introduce your grandson to somebody who didn't
previously know him, what would you say? - He's full of spirit, and
he's full of sweetness, and he's so much fun. He's a very loving little boy. Aren't you baby? (ventilator whooshes)
(Talon gurgles) Yeah. To them, it may look like life is over, but it's not. - [Chris] Tell me all
about your son, Talon. - Okay, so Talon is eight years old. He is in first grade. He loves dinosaurs. His favorite color is green. He loves watching movies. He has a trache connected to a ventilator. It happened 2020 from an
accident. He wasn't born this way. He, what you would say, he was typical up until June, 2020 from
a drowning accident. He has an anoxic brain
injury from lack of oxygen. It left him now requiring help from a ventilator 24/7 to breathe. But, he is still conscious, aware. He can hear, he can see, he's, you know, still the same. - [Chris] Haley, you are Talon's aunt? - Yes. - [Chris] What is it like to be his aunt? - Well, he was, he's the first nephew, so he was the one who
gave me the title Aunt, and I don't know, he's
just, he's the best. Talon was spunky. He was my little buddy,
and I was his Aunt Hayday, so we were best pals. - It was June 7th, 2020
in the heat of Covid. We had just bought an ATV
actually, the day before. It was a side-by-side. He was the passenger.
My husband was driving. (alarm beeps) We had all the safety
things you would think of. Seatbelt, helmet, and it was driving, they
were driving in our pasture, and we have about 10 acres out back, and we have this, well we
had, we relocated him now, but we had this one lonely cow, and he had a habit of
wanting to chase vehicles. And the cow had popped over
the hill chasing the ATV, and my husband swerved so he didn't hit the cow head-on. He didn't realize how
close he was to the pond, and drove into the pond. (ventilator whooshing) He unbuckled himself, unbuckled Talon, but Talon's arm got
caught in the seatbelt, and then the ATV capsized. And Talon got stuck, and went down with the ATV. - [Chris] What was it like for you when he experienced his accident? (ventilator whooshing) - It sucks. I don't have children, and Talon was, you know, our first baby, and I know he is not my son, but he was almost like my kid. And I didn't, you know, no one ever expects his
stuff to happen, ever. And then when it happened it just, it just rocks your world. - They get him out, the
ambulance gets there, and I know Talon was under there for at least, I'd say, 10 to 15 minutes. And I mean, we all know, you know, that much time without
oxygen to the brain, it's not good odds. - [Chris] Did he lose his
heartbeat? Did they revive him? - Yes. Yeah, he had cardiac arrest, so. So I mean, I didn't expect a good outcome. - His life has changed a lot. Our life has changed a lot. But his heart's still there,
and his brain is still there, and he can hear us, and understand things. He's just not able to react
in the ways he used to react. - I know that Talon's not gonna
be the Talon we had before, (sobbing) but he'll be the
best Talon that I can have. (ventilator whooshing) So, and we'll make the best of his life. - Like the doctors in the hospital, they wanted us to put him in a home. That wasn't an option. We weren't gonna leave him. - Talon, at the time, he
didn't do any of this. He didn't move. I mean he was, I would
say, a shell of a body. He didn't open his eyes, he didn't, his eyelids didn't even twitch, his fingers didn't move, nothing. And they told me that's
what I was gonna have for the rest of his life. (ventilator whooshing) I wasn't settling for that. And so, I fought to bring him home. I found nursing care. - When the accident first happened and we were at the hospital, I stayed at this hotel, and the Salvation Army was set up there. And there was a lady working, and she said, "Can I help you?" She thought I was, had
a room through them. And I told her I was wanting to check out, but I wanted to renew my room 'cause I didn't know when
my grandson would get out. And I told her the story. She asked what happened, and
I I told her my life was over. (ventilator wheezing) And she came over, and she prayed with me, and she said, "You go
over to that hospital, and you talk to Talon,
you spend time with him, and cherish every moment
because he's there." - We go to Texas to this center, it's Austin Center for Developing Minds, and he has this qEEG done on his brain. The past couple times
that we've had it done, we've left him with the qEEG brain map on, and we would ask him questions, and you could see while
I was talking to him where that it would just light up one when he was hearing my voice, his brain would just go crazy. Like, I mean. - [Chris] What did you
think when you saw that? - I cried. (chuckles) But, so I mean, he knows my voice. And then I was like
asking him to do things, and it would just, it would
light up like him responding that like he knew what I was saying wanting to do that. They called it locked-in syndrome. So, he knows what's going on, but he can't do anything about it. - He's there, and it's so important that
he knows that we're here, that he's not alone. You know, the doctor told us he has what they call locked-in syndrome. (ventilator wheezes)
(Talon gurgles) And I don't want him to
ever feel like he's alone. He's always there, and it's important that
we're there for him, and that we continuously let
him know that he's loved. - [Chris] In what ways do
you bond with Talon today? - (sniffs) You know, it's different how we bond with him and stuff, but like whenever he's
just laying in his room, like when he used to bother me, I'll go in there, and I'll bother him, and I'll just sit there
and I'll lay on him. Not like all the way on
him, obviously I'm too big, but like, I'll just lay on him And I'll hold him and just
get right in his face, and tell how he is the best ever. (lips smack) In the whole wide world. - [Chris] Why is that
close contact important? - Just so he knows I'm there, and that I'll always be there. - [Chris] Addi, tell me
all about your brother. - My brother, he's very mischievous. He, we used to be double trouble. I'm sure that all our
family could vouch for that. (ventilator wheezes)
(Talon gurgles) Hey, you gotta calm down. He's a very strong boy, very courageous, I would say. - [Chris] Tell me about
Talon's relationship with his sister. - They were the best of friends, well they still are the best of friends, but even beforehand, they're
like sidekicks. (chuckles) Always getting in trouble, and then always fighting
like brother and sisters do. - After his accident, like, you know, we couldn't hold a
conversation or anything, so it was kind of hard to
have that connection with him, and you know, show him
that I'm there for him. - [Chris] How did you learn to make that connection again? - Just being there day
by day. It gets easier. - I try to make sure
that she's not neglected 'cause Talon requires a lot of care. - [Chris] Tell me about how you two bonded before the accident, and how you two bond today. (ventilator whooshes)
(Talon gurgles) - Before the accident, we were basically like this. (chuckles) We played Minecraft together for hours. He wanted to always be in my room. I have videos of him jumping
on me, and taking me down like he was huge. (chuckles) We definitely gave ourself, each of us, a fair share of beatings. (chuckles) But now I try to read to him, and just go in his room and talk, or just sit in there and
so he'll see my presence. - [Chris] What do you talk about? - We talk about, I just ask him how he is
and I'll whisper in his ear, and he'll usually look at me. The first time he opened his
eyes at me and looked at me, I was shocked. I was like, oh my gosh. (ventilator whooshing) He's got the McDreamy hair, as we all say. - [Chris] Is there anything
that others can do, maybe people you encounter
in your daily life, just to make Talon's life better? - Probably just approach him
like you would a normal kid. I mean, don't pity him because a lot of people
come up to him and do that. - Hey, Talon. I'm excited to be here today with you. (ventilator whooshing)
(Talon gurgles) I'm having so much fun hanging
out with you and your family. I can tell you're a really cool person. (alarm beeping) And I love that you have a sense of humor. Your mom told me that this is one of your
favorite things in the world, (button rumbles) this fart button. (button rumbling) Tell me about his love of the fart button. - (chuckles) Well, in
general, he loves farts. When he would fart, he would fart on me, and be like, "Sissy, I farged." Like, he couldn't
pronounce his Ts very good, or some words like his iPad,
he would call his O-Pad. And yeah, he likes the fart button. (button squeaks) - I gotta be honest
with you though, Talon. Last night I had a bean burrito, and oh, I can kind of
feel it in my stomach. (button squeaking) Should I be super positive
and goofy, my normal self? Will he enjoy that?
- Yes. - [Chris] Even if the
indicators aren't visible to me right away? - Yes, absolutely. - [Chris] Is that hard
for people to understand because it doesn't fit the conventional way of communication? - Yes, it makes it awkward. I mean, but I mean life's awkward. I mean, sorry, but it
doesn't fit your norm. But that's, it's not always
going to be that way. And we just gotta step out of our bubble. I mean, this wasn't my norm. I didn't ask for this, but that's what I got. - I also heard that you love dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are such a cool animal. To me, dinosaurs are big,
they're scary, they're amazing. (ventilator wheezes) And I love how there's so many
different types of dinosaurs. There's ones that are
herbivores who just eat plants. (ventilator whooshing) There's carnivores that eat meat. Those are the dangerous ones. Then there's omnivores that
eat meat, and they eat plants. So many different cool dinosaurs. You were watching as me and
Talon had a conversation and interacted. Can you tell me about some of the ways that he might have communicated with his body language and whatnot that others might not perceive? (ventilator whooshes) - Like, he was turning, looking at you. I saw him looking at you. He's wanting to pull this way. He's just having a hard time doing that. But he's wanting to
engage, and look over here. His body's preventing him doing that. (ventilator wheezes) Which is- (alarm beeping) It's frustrating, And that's one thing about the mind as it becomes more aware
(alarm beeping) is his body kinda wants to counteract within the muscle tone and you have your double-edged sword. - [Chris] He wants to interact but his body prevents it? - Yeah. (ventilator whooshes)
(Talon gurgles) - And sometimes when I talk to him and I feel the strain that
is probably on his body to be able to react, to open his eyes, to, you know, look at the
yes button or the no button. And I hate that. I hate that for him. (ventilator whooshes) That's why it's so important that I don't like him to
be in his room by himself. I like somebody to be there with him so he never feels like he's alone. - [Chris] When Talon's eyes
are shut, is he sleeping? - No. You can tell when he's sleeping. He kind of like twitches a
little when he is sleeping. He's not sleeping. Sometimes I think he's
just kind of soaking it in. (ventilator whooshes) See? Say, "I'm not sleeping." (chuckles) - [Chris] Jen and Matthew, you
are Talon's uncle and aunt? - Mm-hm.
- Uh-huh. Yes, sir. - [Chris] What is it like
to be his uncle and aunt? - (chuckles) Well, it's a
great privilege, honestly. I mean, Talon being the
firstborn grandchild into the family, you know, he wasn't or isn't, he's
he's everybody's child. He has, he would go to our,
his Gigi's, house every weekend which is just like five minutes
from my house, basically. So, a lot of times Talon spent
a lot of time at our house. If she had to work or something like that, he would be there with me hanging out. - But I hurt for my children,
my two other children, 'cause Talon's Megan's son,
but he's all of our child. - [Chris] They told me that the doctors use the terminology locked-in syndrome. - Mm-hm. - [Chris] What was it
like for you to learn that he's perceiving everything,
but can't communicate back? - I was also in Texas whenever
we got that information, which it's still kind
of hard to deal with. (ventilator whooshing) I just, I hate it for
him. This is not fair. A little eight-year old
boy shouldn't be like that. (ventilator whooshing) It's still something
you deal with every day. You don't get over it. - It's very different. I mean, it's hard, But just like those
times when we would go, prior to the accident,
you're excited and proud about his tee-ball games, or you know, him learning to do new things. Well, we still have that now because it's just on a different level. Just being able to see
him gain strength back. I mean, we get excited now when we see him being
able to open his eyes, and having a sense of
communication with us. You know, there are times whenever you can hold his hand, he'll squeeze it, and stuff like that to tell you certain things. - Megan sent us a video the other day of him rolling over in bed on his own, and when you see things like that, you can't help but to tear up 'cause you know he's in there, and you know he's communicating,
he's learning new things and learning how to use
his body in this new way. - Yeah, I mean it's just
quite amazing just to see, 'cause I go back to that evening whenever I did finally see
him there in the hospital. I mean, it was scary. I mean, you sit, at that particular point, his body was basically
just shaking tremendously because it was in shock
from what had just happened. - [Chris] Tell me about
his schooling today. - He goes to school. He's in first grade in
Ms. Chandler's class. I don't have day nursing, so
I'm going to school with him. And so it's like going back to first grade all over again. (chuckles) We go three days a week.
We go eight to noon. And we just kinda do what they're doing. We read the books, and listen, and go sit on the carpet
with the rest of the kids, and (chuckles) do our little activities. And then we go into Ms. Slinger's class and do music therapy, and
do his physical therapy, and do his occupational
therapy, and speech therapy. - [Chris] If other people
want to be Talon's friend, what should they do? - Just talk to him. (ventilator wheezes) He likes interaction. - [Chris] How do you
know that he likes it? - He'll look at you, and he'll show you like, by just holding, like, look, he's opening
his eyes right now. He likes when you talk to him. - Now, I wanted to get
serious for a second, and tell you some things
that I think about you. (ventilator whooshing) I can tell that you are
really, really, really strong. That is really obvious
that you're a strong kid. You should be really proud of yourself for everything you're accomplishing. For all your growth
over the past few years, I know you're working
really hard in therapy. I know you go to therapy, your mom told me four days a week. You're learning all these skills. Your family's very proud of you. I just met you, and I'm proud of you. Make sure you keep
working hard in therapy. I know you go to school a few days a week. All your classmates love
you when you're there. I think that's amazing. You
have so many good friends. Do you see a shift in Talon's energy when people are positive and uplifting? - Yes. Yeah. In talking more positive, like in his room or in in therapy. Like, we sing like positive songs, and we play music and that's
like a burst of energy. He'll perform better. He does better - Since the accident, I come down here every
weekend and I read to him, and we watch TV together, and we just, we still do things together. Isn't that right, baby? (ventilator whooshes) Say, "Gigi sings to me." And the kids make a joke out of that. They say that he closes his
eyes hoping I'll shut up. (laughs) 'Cause I can't sing. - [Chris] Do you have a certain song that you always sing to him? - I have since he was born. Talon is a special boy. Talon is a special boy. Talon's so special, Talon's so special, Talon's my pride and joy.
(ventilator whooshes)
This ain't living.... To keep him alive like that is torture...
I'd rather bite my tongue and die than be put into this living corpse model to be paraded around and used in an inspiration campaign for life
Is there any hope he can recover? If not, I can't imagine what's going on inside his mind right now. It looks like his existence is pure torture.
To be honest this is one of the best channels on YouTube. Simply because of the quality of the interviews and the spreading of acceptance for those who are differently abled. That’s still an important message.
Sadly, the line for quality of life for humans is incredibly gray and this channel definitely is a good example with some of their subjects for that. Humans are selfish and sometimes we keep others alive for our own benefit.
That's a nice zombie she has there. I hope it's not a biter.
This should have NSFW TAG!
Are they supposed to just murder him?