UK Pediatric Patient Bounces Back from Brain Injury to Star in Elf Jr.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 23, 2015) — Surrounded by an army of “elves” wearing red hairbows and headbands with pointy ears, Owen Sayers waited backstage for his microphone check during a dress rehearsal for the holiday performance of “Elf Jr.”

The freckled 11-year-old prepared to play the role of Michael, a young boy who befriends Buddy the Elf, in the musical adaptation of the popular Christmas movie, “Elf.” Wearing a green sweater and navy blue pea coat as his costume, Owen warmed up his soprano voice for a full run of the show in the Lucille Little Theatre of Saints Peter and Paul School on Dec. 17. The Academy for Creative Excellence, a preparatory performing arts program offered by UK Opera Theatre, produced the musical, which starred up-and-coming vocal performers the weekend of Dec. 19-21.

All cast members, even the swarms of elves, were acquainted with Owen, a vocal major at the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) who freely gives out hugs. But not everyone knew about Owen’s traumatic brain injury earlier in the year. When asked about his accident, Owen parted his red hair on the side to show the proof: a pink scar from the incision. He related his injury to the story of Humpty Dumpty.

“Because he was fragile,” Owen said, comparing himself to the character that cracked his head in the nursery rhyme. “Because really, everybody’s head is fragile.”

While riding his bicycle on the first warm day in May, Owen hit a curb and flew headfirst over the handlebars and into a tree. Tim Sayers, Owen’s father, found his son at the crash site dazed and worried about his glasses. A former football player, Sayers suspected a concussion and took Owen to the emergency department of St. Joseph East as a precaution. A CT scan revealed Owen was suffering from more than a concussion — he was diagnosed with an epidural hematoma, or serious brain bleed. While in the emergency department, Owen became drowsy and his vital signs started to drop. Doctors knew every second counted and Owen’s life was in danger. The medical staff expedited Owen to Kentucky Children’s Hospital, the only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center in Eastern and Central Kentucky, where a team of surgeons, doctors and nurses waited at the doors to rush him into emergency surgery.

KCH surgeons brought Owen into a recovery room around 1 a.m. While the surgery was successful, the medical team told Tim and Becky Sayers only time could tell whether Owen suffered any loss of cognitive function from the injury. It was impossible to know the full extent of the trauma until Owen regained consciousness.

“We embraced — we were really scared,” Becky Sayers said. “We said,  ‘Whatever we find in there, we have to be strong,’ and we went back to recovery.”

The couple stayed awake all night waiting for Owen to regain consciousness. Around 3 a.m., Owen reached for something then drifted back to sleep. At 5 a.m., the Sayers turned on the hospital room television to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show. As the characters danced on the screen, the Sayers looked up to see Owen, who was still supported by a breathing tube, shaking his “jazz” hands to the rhythm of the song.

“Tim and I looked at each other and said, ‘Are you dancing?’” Becky Sayers said. “And he nodded his head. We knew that he understood he was dancing to the TV, and we just cried.”

Owen, who at the time of the accident was cast as Flounder in an upcoming production of “The Little Mermaid,” regained his voice at a whisper after the breathing tube was removed the next day. A few weeks after he was released from the hospital, he auditioned for a role in “Into the Woods,” and two months later he played the lead role of Simba in “The Lion King Jr.” Aside from the embarrassment of a shaved head and a few headaches in the weeks after surgery, Owen was able to return to the stage untarnished by the incident.

Unintentional injuries are the most common cause of death and disability in children and adolescents. Dr. Scottie Day, chief of the pediatric critical care at KCH, said Owen’s remarkable recovery is attributed in part to collaborative efforts of his entire medical team, from the emergency department to the PICU.

“We do not consider it a job, but a privilege as a team, to take care of patients like Owen and their families,” Day said. “We want each and every family to know that they are part of our story as well. “

After he hit his head on the tree, Owen wondered whether he’d be able to sing and dance again. He was relieved to be back to normal soon after he got home from the hospital. He said he doesn’t really ride bikes anymore, but sometimes rides a scooter with his helmet. Becky Sayers said Owen’s resilience helped him bounce back after the injury.

“I feel really lucky,” Owen said. “I got back up again. I didn’t give up.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu; Whitney Hale, whitney.hale@uky.edu