Jack Ryan Greener was just a beginner in BJJ when he had a jujitsu accident that changed his life forever.
During the accident, Jack initially thought he was going to be okay, but moments later, he realized he couldn’t move. He suffered a traumatic dislocation of the c45 region, two cracked vertebrae, and a severed artery on his left side in the back of his neck.
However, the worst was yet to come. Twelve hours after the accident, he suffered multiple strokes due to clots passing through his brain, which is one of the most catastrophic and possibly lethal strokes a person can suffer.
Jack was rushed to the hospital, and surgeons operated on him for nine hours to try to save his life. At one point during surgery, the situation changed for the worst, and his life was at risk. Fortunately, he made it through the surgery and began his long road to recovery.
Jack’s recovery process was a difficult and challenging journey. After suffering a stroke, he was intubated and had to use his eyes on an alphabet board to communicate for the first week. He also experienced hallucinations, spikes and drops in temperature, loss of privacy, and loss of control over bodily functions.
However, a flicker of movement in his left big toe gave him hope that he would make a strong recovery.
Jack underwent surgery to remove damaged discs between the c4 and c5 vertebrae and stabilize them with plates and screws.
Surgeons removed all the damaged discs to allow fusion to occur between them, and there was some hope for movement after the surgery. However, it was uncertain to what degree or where movement would occur.
Throughout his recovery process, Jack had to relearn everything from scratch at Craig Hospital for four months. His doctor advised him to envision signals going down to each muscle fiber every day, which helped him stay motivated to achieve his goal.
Jack’s journey of recovery was not an easy one, but he persevered through the challenges and setbacks. He proved that with hard work and determination, anything is possible. The first few steps were just the beginning of a bigger goal ahead, and Jack is a true inspiration to us all he revealed in video.
