For Cade Janke, one normal day on his family’s farm quickly became a nightmare. On June 26, a passing semitrailer struck Cade while he was riding his family’s ATV.
“I was driving our side-by-side back to our farm,” Cade said. “I was struck behind my driver’s door and supposedly I was ejected.”
The accident left Cade with brain trauma, left-sided facial fractures, swelling in the left shoulder and significant road rash. First responders took him to Providence Medical Center in Wayne, Nebraska, before transferring him to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Doctors there placed Cade in a medically induced coma to reduce the pressure and swelling in his brain.
Three weeks later, Cade arrived at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ specialized brain injury program, walking on his own.
“Cade made progress very quickly,” Emily Adams, OTD, OTR/L, CBIS, a Madonna occupational therapist, said. “He came in already ambulating well and completing all of his self-cares with supervision and quickly progressed to completing independently within a few days.”
One of Cade’s biggest challenges proved to be his vision. Working with Madonna’s neuro-optometrist, Adams implemented a specific vision therapy plan into his occupational therapy sessions.
“I remember (when I got there) that I couldn’t see and that just irritated me,” Cade said. “But when we started working with my eyes and my eyesight came back, my motivation picked up. It just started going uphill from there.”
Recognizing Cade’s significant progress, his physician-led care team found creative ways to focus on building his strength and stamina. Using Madonna’s work re-entry program, Cade spent time with our grounds crew, trimming large bushes and filling in holes around campus, simulating the hands-on, daily labor he was familiar with on his family’s farm.
“Going outside and doing things is a daily part of my life. I work outside for a good part of my job, so I enjoyed it,” Cade said. “It kind of helped support my thoughts that there’s [the] possibility that I could do everything again.”
After less than two weeks at Madonna, Cade returned home to Wayne and later came back to Madonna’s Lincoln Campus for the intense outpatient rehabilitation day program. After just three days, Cade completed the driver re-training program and was cleared from vision therapy, allowing him to return home permanently and to be back on the farm in time to help with harvest.
“The driving aspect of it felt great,” Cade said. “Once he told me I passed, it felt amazing. I was like, ‘This is going to become a reality that I get to drive again.’”
In a short time, Cade demonstrated his never-give-up mindset and his active participation in his therapy sessions proved successful in his miraculous journey.
“We were able to accomplish so much in [the time] he was with us, and he had such a supportive family which truly makes a difference,” Adams said. “He was more than willing to try whatever we challenged him with and that will continue to help with his recovery in the long run.”