THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 23, 1996 TAG: 9602230440
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Brian Taylor stopped short, blinking in surprise at the row of cameras and lights blocking his path. He backed up a bit, cautious, and leaned against Aretha Graham, a clinician from the rehabilitation unit at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
But then the 4-year-old gamely trotted forward into the hospital lobby.
``Bye,'' he waved, smiling, before he was attracted by the microphone of a television reporter and stopped to investigate.
He's been through a lot in the last two weeks.
He almost died after he fell through the ice on a canal near his home. He made a heartening recovery after lying for several days in a coma. Along the way, he drew a rush of media attention that's had Hampton Roads rooting for him.
And on Thursday, Brian Taylor went home.
His balance is a little unsteady, but he is doing extremely well, said his doctor, Jean E. Shelton, at a news conference in the hospital lobby.
A key question for doctors: How much brain damage was done during the few minutes he floated in the icy water not breathing? His grandmother, Della Cherry, and mother, Debra Taylor, fished him out, and his grandmother resuscitated him.
Measurements of his brain waves showed that the left side of his brain might have been affectedmore than his right, said Shelton. But there was no visible damage on a CT scan, a technique that uses X-rays to look at the inside of the body. Intelligence tests don't help much in evaluating how he's changed because he hadn't been tested before the accident.
A week ago, he couldn't control his bodily functions, said Shelton, who is the hospital's medical director of rehabilitation services and an associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He had trouble remembering things and following instructions, she said.
``He's made significant progress over the last week,'' Shelton said. ``I think he'll either be where he was before or very, very close.''
He will have therapy for six to nine months. His youth will help him. Children's brains are more plastic, said Shelton. When the brain is injured, it is possible that another part will assume responsibility for jobs it wouldn't normally have taken.
``Adults are not so lucky,'' she said.
Thursday was Brian's first day outside since his accident. He stared curiously at the TV equipment for a moment, then found a branch to play with among the bushes by the front door. He wandered about on the wide sidewalk, tracing his steps carefully, as though he were getting used to a new pair of shoes.
He borrowed a microphone and pointed it at Channel 3 cameraman Jeff Countess, who crouched in front of him.
``Start talking,'' he said, drawing laughter.
His mother and grandmother were beaming.
``He's doing a lot more than we ever thought he'd do,'' said Cherry.
He won't be at his home on Breezy Road in Virginia Beach for long.
This weekend, the family, which includes his 10-year-old brother, D.J., will be moving to a new house in Kempsville, a house with no water nearby.
A fund for Brian's family has been set up. Donations can be made through any First Virginia Bank branch. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo [appeared on B1]
Going Home
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Brian Taylor, 4, enjoyed the celebrity outside Children's Hospital
of The King's Daughters after he was released Thursday morning.
After he fell through ice two weeks ago, his mother, Debra Taylor,
left, and his grandmother, Della Cherry, pulled him out and
resuscitated him.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL RESCUE by CNB