The Year That Broke Us, Rebuilt Us
After being hit by a pickup truck, police deputy Lucas Shoffner spent nearly a month in a coma at UT Medical’s Level I Trauma Center. Doctors never expected him to walk again. He proved them wrong. In August 2022, Lucas and Nicole Shoffner, who at the time were both deputies with Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, were attempting to fix a miniature motorcycle on the side of the road, when a pickup truck hit them. Lucas shoved his wife aside and took the brunt of the impact head on. He was taken to UT Medical’s Level I Trauma Center and diagnosed with a severe traumatic brain injury, or TBI, facial fractures and blood clots. As a result of the impact, Lucas’ brain swelled, which can be deadly. “He had what is called ‘malignant medically refractory intracranial hypertension,’” said Christopher Gallati, MD, the neurosurgeon caring for him. “That means that the swelling didn’t respond to standard medical interventions and procedures, including an external ventricular drain.” An external ventricular drain helps get rid of the extra fluid to decrease the intracranial pressure. That worked, but only temporarily. So, Gallati discussed performing a hemicraniectomy. That’s a procedure where a neurosurgeon removes part of the skull so the brain can swell without causing further injury. It can also help to prevent severe swelling, which can be fatal. At this point, Lucas’ prognosis was grim. “He came in with a good exam,” said Gallati. “But over time, he declined. Combined with the brain swelling, that can result in severe neurological disability or even death.”
Nicole remembers it from a wife’s perspective. “At one point, they told me to say goodbye,” she said. “But I refused to imagine life without him.” Lucas survived the hemicraniectomy and, after nearly a month in a medically induced coma, he woke up. At that point, Nicole received a packet with accessibility options for their house, like wheelchair ramps and handrails. “Nobody expected him to wake up, much less walk,” she said. Because his TBI was so severe, he was expected to be in ICU until Christmas, but Lucas defied expectations again. Even though half his skull had been removed, and he was fighting multiple infections, he was discharged to rehab in three weeks, not the three months that doctors had predicted. “I was in the outpatient program, wearing a helmet to cover the hole in my head,” he said. “I had to relearn how to walk, talk and do the basic functions of life.” In addition to those challenges, Lucas’ right arm was paralyzed. As a member of the Kentucky National Guard and a sheriff’s deputy, this brought up questions about whether he would be able to work in his field again. “I wanted to go back to my old jobs, but I knew I couldn’t unless I could hold and fire my weapon.”
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