Thumbs-up for Dallas

Brasstown Thursdays have taken on new meaning for residents in Cherokee and surrounding counties, as people near and far have been showing support for a young boy recovering from a freak accident.

Dallas Wilson, 3, was playing at home on the evening of Jan. 27 when a coat rack that he was playing around fell on him and hit his head. 

Dallas is the son of Darren and Ami Wilson of Brasstown. Ami, a medical assistant and scribe at Peachtree Pediatrics in Murphy, called 911 when the accident happened.

“He was unconscious, and I called 911,” Wilson said. “They took him to [Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in Peachtree], where they did a CT Scan and because they weren’t able to fly him out due to weather, the Life Flight Medics rode with us in the ambulance.”

Dallas was taken to T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he underwent surgery right away as well as another CT Scan, EEG the day after and MRI 72 hours after the accident to monitor the injuries to his brain. Wilson said the neurologist told them the results for the MRI was a large injury at a place in the brain called the corpus callosum, where the left and right lobes connect.

She said this injury, as well as another at the base of the brain where the stem connects, were affecting his ability to regulate his body temperature and move his eyes. His pupils were dilating, and it affected his cough/gag reflex. Doctors also told the Wilsons that Dallas had a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which most people do not survive.

‘Hold it all together’

Wilson said being a medical professional was both a blessing and a curse while doctors took care of her son on the night of the accident.

“I’ve worked around hospitals – you learn and pick up on things,” She said. “That night, I saw his pupils – and I was trying to keep my composure because Darren doesn’t know what I know about that stuff, and he worries more – I try to hold it all together and it’s hard, especially that night.”

Dallas underwent a double craniotomy to evacuate clots around his brain. Miraculously, Dallas maintained his blood pressure and oxygen through the surgery and remained in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at T.C. Thompson for two weeks.

“He was intubated,” Wilson said. “He stayed sedated most of the time while he was in the PICU. The day after they extubated him was the day he opened his eyes, and he had some right-side paralysis that wasn’t as evident in the beginning.”

Ever since, Wilson said Dallas has shown his fiery red-headed nature and continued to improve as time goes on. She says he is no longer getting tube feeds and he has gotten his speech back as well as walked unassisted for the first time on March 7.

On March 1, Dallas was transferred to Levine Children’s Inpatient Rehabilitation in Charlotte, where he will spend the next few weeks working on physical and speech therapy.

Each day, Ami has given updates about Dallas’ condition in the Facebook group “Prayers for Dallas” created by Ami’s friend and coworker, Stephanie Lowe, as more and more people join from around the county and beyond. 

“I have been amazed at the support this community has shown Dallas.” Lowe said. “He has always been a spunky little boy and I think his spunk has been the driving force behind his rehabilitation. When I started the Prayers for Dallas page, my goal was to get as many prayers for Dallas as well as share updates.”

Sharing thumbs up

Lowe said she didn’t expect the outpouring of concern and support throughout the area. A Facebook movement to support Dallas has been rising in the past weeks, where local businesses and residents upload photos giving him a thumbs-up. 

Wilson said this movement was started by a family friend, Bonnie Chastain of Murphy, when she posted a photo giving Dallas a thumbs-up. Wilson said this gesture means much more, as Darren had taught Dallas to give thumbs-up as a baby and it has been his signature move ever since.

“When he started being able to move his hand, that was the one thing we wanted him to do so much, as much as him opening his eyes or saying ‘mama and daddy’ because that would tell us that he was still with us,” Wilson said emotionally. “Thumbs-Up Thursday means more to us than people realize, I’ve saved all the pictures people have posted to the group and will make something for Dallas to look back on.”

Fundraisers help

Chris Woods, nurse practitioner at Peachtree Pediatrics set up a GoFundMe for the family which is still active. Donations can be made directly to Dallas and his family on the VenMo app and looking for Ami’s account at Ami-Wilson-4. 

Several fundraisers already have been held and more are planned to help Dallas’ family with medical expenses.

The Peachtree Pediatrics staff are hosting a “Dallas-Saurus 5K Run/Walk” beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday in Andrews at West End Plaza. Registration is online at raceentry.com at $25 per entry. 

Julie’s Place restaurant in Peachtree hosted a community event in support of Dallas from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday featuring live music. And Legends Steakhouse in Murphy held an event for Dallas on Feb. 24 that included music by Andrew Chastain and raffles.

Jessica Chumley of Dahlonega, Ga., is making T-shirts featuring “Thumbs-Up for Dallas” Chumley is taking orders through Facebook and T-shirts are priced $25 each. All proceeds go to help Dallas’ family.