Spring 2005

A publication for friends of St. Joseph’s Foundation and Barrow Neurological Foundation

Although Chris Haddox did not know it at the time, his new life began on April 18, 2002. It was on that night—after bowling, drinking beer and socializing with co-workers—that Chris crashed his mint-condition 1979 Harley Davidson motorcycle near 74th Street and Shea. He was thrown headfirst into the curb, crushing the upper right quadrant of his face and shattering his forehead and orbit into 16 pieces. The impact caused blood vessels to break and blood to pool on his brain, creating two dangerous subdural and epidural hematomas. Chris does not remember the emergency flight to St. Joseph’s Level I Trauma Center or the trauma team’s work to stabilize and assess him. He does not remember the emergency surgery— performed by Barrow neurosurgeon Stephen Papadopoulos, MD, and plastic surgeon Lloyd Champagne, MD—to remove the hematomas and piece his skull back together. And, he does not remember the weeks he spent in a coma in Barrow’s Neuro ICU. He does remember finally emerging from the gray that had enveloped him. “I was looking at faces I knew I recognized but I just couldn’t put a name to them,” says Chris. “The little synapses weren’t firing right.” Chris gave up smoking and drinking. He began running, despite the loss of motor skills and strength on his right side. He improved his diet and lost 50 pounds. And, he started Fitwell Coaching, a business dedicated to helping people achieve personal wellness.

“Chris was nearly brain dead when he arrived at the Barrow. Our entire team worked extremely hard in an effort to merely save his life. He certainly represents one of the rarest of cases to have such a complete and functional recovery.” Stephen Papadopoulos, MD