Many of Mechack Jerome’s earliest memories revolve around a soccer ball.
“I started playing soccer when I was little,” Mechack said. “They gave me a ball to kick, and I kicked it everywhere.”
It’s a family tradition: His father and three older brothers were competitive athletes in Haiti. At just 8 years old, Mechack joined a club team and quickly became recognized as one of Haiti’s premier defenders. He represented Haiti’s under-17 squad at the 2007 World Cup, clinched the USL Championship with Orlando City in 2011, and secured the MLS Cup with Sporting Kansas City in 2013. Additionally, he has had the honor of captaining the Haitian national team.
In 2024, he joined Union Omaha’s club, and his family settled into the area. His veteran presence paid off, as he started 19 of the first 20 games before he was sidelined with severe burns following an October 2024 house explosion.
Mechack was taken to CHI St. Elizabeth’s burn unit and sustained serious burns over most of his body. He spent almost five months healing before coming to Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospitals to learn independence and advance his mobility. However, with the extreme burns, he was also dealing with a significant amount of pain.
“The first hurdles that the team focused on were managing Mechack’s pain, healing open areas from his burns, and decreasing his infection,” Amanda Cool, MSOTR/L, his occupational therapist, said. “By addressing these areas and helping him to have successes and control over his care, we were able to tap into the parts of his personality that have contributed to his successes as a professional athlete.”
Mechack’s care team focused on stretching and strengthening activities to loosen up his muscles. They also collaborated with multiple departments and disciplines for therapy, dressing changes for his open areas of burns and skin grafts, as well as medical management.
“Because his burns crossed over so many of his joints, it made it difficult to move more than one portion of his body at a time,” Cool said. “When you think about the motion needed for a task as simple as taking a drink of water, you need to be able to combine movements in your shoulder, elbow, wrist, hands, head, and neck. By pushing himself for a greater level of mobility inside and outside of therapy sessions, he demonstrated continued flexibility and improved range of motion to maximize his independence.”
They also focused on self-care tasks, in which he surpassed the original goal, with the help of some adaptive strategies and equipment.
“Initially, we wanted Mechack to understand the steps for all of his care needs to direct whoever was assisting him at the time,” Cool said. “We made progress with his ability to care for himself and was able to put on his own compression garments.”
As his care team learned to manage his pain and established a foundation of trust, his personality and competitive spirit began to shine.
They also began to incorporate soccer into his therapy sessions to work on dynamic balance and intensive mobility.
And while his goal is to return to soccer eventually, he recognizes that he still has a long road ahead. For now, he is enjoying reuniting with his family and continuing to heal.
“I’m still motivated to go back, but the body is not ready yet,” Mechack said. “I didn’t die in the explosion, so God has a plan for me. I keep living day by day.”