Written by Clark; his sister, Kelsey; and their mother, Mariellen

Clark Jacobs was sound asleep on the campus of Georgia Tech in early January of 2015 when a seven-foot fall from his lofted bed changed his life forever. Clark suffered a massive skull fracture and in the days that followed, a brain bleed threatened his life requiring a craniotomy and brain surgery to save him.

During his bleed, Clark’s brain herniated and he suffered a stroke on his cerebellum. After two weeks in the Neuro ICU, Clark was transferred to Shepherd Center to begin his journey through disorders of consciousness, rehabilitative therapy, and generally learning how to do every basic life function all over again; things as simple as swallowing, eating, talking, and walking with a walker.

After 4.5 months inpatient, Clark went on to “graduate” every type of therapeutic recovery program that Shepherd offers: Pathways Day Program, Outpatient Therapies, and 26 weeks at Beyond Therapy.

Because of his tragic fall, Clark and his mom started a non-profit called “Rail Against the Danger” to warn other students about the dangers of lofted beds and the importance of safety rails.

Finally in the fall of 2016, Clark returned to his life as an engineering student and a brother of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Clark is pursuing his degree in Mechanical Engineering and is excited to help other families who are embarking on the bewildering path of brain injury.

Clark and his sister, Kelsey Jacobs, are planning on becoming Brain Injury Peer Visitors at Shepherd Center as part of the Brain Injury Peer Visitor Association.

Read the following story. It does a great job of telling Clark’s whole story. It was featured in the AJC in April: Superman and the mysterious injury

Clark and his mom were spotlighted in the June 2019 edition (PDF) of Shepherd Center’s Volunteer Newsletter!

The below links are some of the tougher ones to read, from when things were bad but then started to get better in early 2015:

Family set for ‘whatever it takes’ to aid Ga. Tech student’s recovery

College student suffers severe head injury after falling out of bed while sleeping

Tech Student Injured in Fall from Bed Can Walk, Talk Again