(lohud) – Using a fork is second nature to most. For Jyrel Daniel, it represents hard work, progress and hope.
Last June, Jyrel, now 22, suffered traumatic brain injuries in a devastating car crash in New Rochelle. He was given a 3 percent chance of surviving and a 10 percent chance of waking up from a coma. He beat both long-shot odds but was “basically a newborn,” his mother, Muriel Daniel, said.
Since then, he has regained some mobility in his arms and partial vision in his left eye; is able to eat finger foods by himself and use a special cup to drink and a fork to eat; can stand with the support of physical therapists and speak some short words, including “yes” and “no.”
“I tell him every day, he’s the best part of my morning when I see him doing well,” Muriel said. Jyrel has had a long, painful path to achieve these tiny but significant measures of progress since he was injured when a speeding BMW T-boned his friend’s Toyota on Lincoln Avenue last June. Jyrel was in the back seat. CONTINUE