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Courtesy of the Chaffee family
Adam and Matt Chaffee
Two Michigan brothers who are self-described best friends have an unmistakable bond after enduring separate, life-altering accidents less than a year apart.
Courtesy of the Chaffee family
First, Matt's accident.
In November 2014, Matt Chaffee suffered a spinal-cord injury when he was involved in a motorcycle crash in Memphis, Tenn. The crash left Matt with eight broken ribs, two punctured lungs and a shattered spine. He suffered a complete spinal cord injury and became paralyzed from the chest down.
Courtesy of the Chaffee family
Adam takes him in
Adam, a Western Michigan University student, offered for Matt to move in with him in a Kalamazoo house. Adam helped his older brother with everyday tasks like grocery shopping, cooking meals and navigating curbs.
"I feel like I was just starting to get comfortable with my disability," Matt Chaffee said in July. "I was starting to become positive again. I had a better outlook on life, then all of a suddent his happens to him."
Courtesy of the Chaffee family
Then, Adam gets hurt.
Adam, 23, was on a dock with friends on Corey Lake near Three Rivers July 25 when a friend playfully pushed him into the water. Adam hit his head and sustained a spinal cord injury.
Adam was taken to Three Rivers Health, then airlifted to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, where he underwent surgery.
The accident left him without the use of his torso and legs, and most of the use of his hands. Adam's family were told he likely wouldn't regain sensation in most of his body, but they hoped that someday he would be able to control his arms.
"It's going to be extremely difficult, but I think he's the kind of guy that will stay positive through it," Matt Chaffee said a few days following Adam's accident. "Now it's like we both have this life sentence of disability, so now we have to deal with it together. We can help each other along the way."
The accident topped a tumultuous few years for the Chaffee family. Their father, Greg, died in 2012 at age 55 of a heart attack.
Emily Monacelli | emonacel@mlive.com
Donations pour in
Friends set up a GoFundMe account to help Adam and Matt purchase needed medical supplies and adaptive tools. Though Adam's hospital stays are largely covered by insurance, the funds raised could be used to purchase a van that will allow the brothers to get around together, and serve as a safety net until the brothers can start working again.
"It's definitely helping us be more positive about the situation," Matt Chaffee said in August of the outpouring of donations and support. "Because of this, Adam and I are probably going to be able to stay together and be independent."
To date, 1,122 people have donated more than $87,000 toward the brothers' needs.
Courtesy of Chaffee family
Adam speaks again after weeks of being on ventilator
Courtesy of the Chaffee family
Adam undergoes stem-cell treatment
In late August, Adam Chaffee traveled to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago to participate in a clinical trial that may give him back the use of his arms.
"My hope is that I can use my hands," Chaffee said. "That's my main hope, my arms and my hands. I can move my arms, and I can move my wrists, but I can't move my fingers."
He fit the bill for ideal candidates: patients ages 18 to 65 who recently experienced a cervical spinal cord injury that caused partial or total paralysis of their arms, legs and torso. The procedure must happen between 14 to 30 days post-injury.
Asterias Biotherapeutics, a San Francisco Bay-area biotechnology company, develops the cells and is sponsored the study. That means it was free for Chaffee to participate.
It could take six months to one year to tell if the procedure had any effect on Chaffee, his neurosurgeon said.
Chaffee said at the time he was staying positive about his future.
"Everyone's been really supportive and caring, and I really appreciate it," Chaffee said. "I'm just trying to stay positive. It's hard to do, but being negative is not going to help anything."
Courtesy of Anthony J. Norkus
Rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed
Adam Chaffee spent nearly 90 days at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids. Though his injury is at the C5 vertebrae, the function of his hands is that of a C6 injury. He can lift his wrists but can't move his fingers. He can move his arms and can feel sensation on the outside of his thumbs but can't feel his fingers.
"I've gained a lot of motion back but mostly I've gained a lot of strength," Chaffee said Thursday, the day he was discharged from the rehabilitation hospital.
He has had to re-learn how to do everyday tasks, such as brushing his teeth, eating and getting dressed, a task that has proven to be especially difficult.
"I still can't do it all on my own," he said. "I still need help."
Adam has regained some independence with the use of his electric wheelchair, but will require the help of a daily caregiver to take a shower, cook meals and perform personal care.
Emily Monacelli | emonacel@mlive.com
The brothers stick together
Adam Chaffee was discharged from Mary Free Bed Thursday, Nov. 19.
Much like Adam helped him after he was injured, Matt Chaffee, has stayed by his brother's side through his nearly four months of hospitalization.
"He's my brother, I love him and will always be there to help him when he is in need," Matt Chaffee said. "Aside from that, we are best friends and I just enjoy hanging out with him."
Adam said it has helped greatly having his older brother by his side. "He knows exactly what it's like,. I've had his support and that's been really helpful.
Their mother, Carol Chaffee, said Adam did the same for Matt.
"They've always been up for each other," Carol Chaffee said. "They've always helped each other. I don't think that was a tough decision for (Matt) at all."
Daytona Niles
Adjusting to life in Grand Rapids
On Thursday, Adam moved into the new apartment he and Matt started leasing in downtown Grand Rapids.
The apartment is close to the downtown nightlife and entertainment. It's also close to Mary Free Bed, where Adam will undergo outpatient therapy several times a week. It's big enough for Matt's manual wheelchair and Adam's electric wheelchair.
Adam Chaffee is discharged from Mary Free Bed
Daytona Niles
Looking on the bright side
Carol Chaffee, Adam and Matt's mother, said despite their limitations, her sons stay positive, something they learned from their late father.
"It is a life changer, but they're supposed to come out on top somehow," she said. "They're both so smart. That's the big thing. It's a horrible thing to say, but the fact that their brains are intact, the fact that there is no brain damage is just an amazing blessing.
"You can learn to do a lot of other stuff as long as your brain is still working. They are very intelligent."