Jacob Fulford seemed very upset, but not badly injured the day he crashed his bicycle in a store parking lot in 2011.
He had flipped and landed on his head without a helmet.
But when the then-12-year-old couldn’t stop crying, his mother Peggy followed her intuition and took him to the hospital. Her decision saved his life: he had a fractured skull with bruising and bleeding underneath. He was rushed to TraumaOne for life-saving treatment. A few days later, the brain injury began to bleed again, requiring a craniotomy.
Jacob rallied quickly, enjoying his time in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit as he ordered his meals each night like “room service” and joked around with the staff. He then headed to Brooks Rehabilitation to begin slowly returning to activities he once enjoyed.
When he was honored at UF Health’s annual A Night for Heroes gala in 2012, he said, “I’m happy to be home so I can play my video games. But I can’t wait to run and swim and ride rollercoasters again!”
Today, his mother is happy to report that he has done all of those things and more.
Now 14, Jacob is a 6th grade honor student at Seven Bridges School. He’s back to swimming, and he’s taken up body surfing at the beach.
Jacob has also found a new friend: he recently adopted a homeless beagle, who’s quickly become his sidekick.
He also had an adventure with his father, Jim Fulford. Both of them are serious fans of Transformers. So serious, in fact, that Jim drives a special edition Transformers Bumblebee Camaro. So on the day a new Transformers ride opened at Universal Studios over the summer, both Jim and Jacob were there.
Jacob’s mother said the family looks at life differently since the accident.
“An ongoing reaction for us is a renewed appreciation for safety. We live a full life and have lots of family fun, but Jacob’s close call has kept staying safe a priority. “
She said they will always be grateful to the people who cared for Jacob and helped him return to the activities he loves.
“Two years since Jacob’s accident, we are continually grateful for the excellent care that Jacob received. From the night of the accident through his rehabilitation, we were comforted and guided through his surgery and recovery by the caring staff at TraumaOne, UF Physicians and Brooks Rehabilitation.” This is the video taken in 2012 when Jacob was honored at A Night for Heroes:
This story is an installment in our “Where are they now?” series of updates on some of our best- known patients from years past. You can read the rest of our updates by clicking on any one of the links below:
ATV crash victim overcame head trauma and became a teacher
Little boy in four-wheeler crash now a 6-foot-4 hunting enthusiast
Patient who couldn’t open eyes or speak is back to outdoorsy lifestyle