Young woman continues
fight back from brink
Fund-raiser for Jill Wick
set for May 17 in Jackson
JACKSON — Jill Wick has accomplished more in her 20 years than most people will in a lifetime.
True, she hasn’t run a marathon or become the CEO of a corporation … yet. Many days she doesn’t even get out of bed. But what she lacks in terms of a résumé, she makes up for in strength and determination that most people have never seen the likes of.
The same can be said about Jill’s mother, Linda Wick. After experiencing every parent’s worst nightmare at the thought of losing a child, Wick has become a one-woman booster club on behalf of her daughter.
Two years ago, on what would be the last ordinary morning of her life, Jill was getting ready for school when she experienced a massive brain injury. At 18, she was a freshman at a community college in Brooklyn, N.Y., where the Wick family originally hails from.
While standing in her room, Jill collapsed to the ground. She was rushed to Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn where she was diagnosed as having had a spontaneous hemorrhage in her brain stem. After two surgeries she was left in a coma and on life support.
Wick said the prognosis from the doctors for Jill was not hopeful, to say the least.
"The doctors gave me no hope whatsoever," Wick said. "They told me that 90 percent of the people who have this type of brain injury die. The other 10 percent will live in a vegetable state."
It was then that Wick turned from being an ordinary mother, wife and career woman into a powerhouse of support and confidence for her daughter.
"Where there is life, there is hope," Wick said. "I never gave up on my daughter, and I never will."
Doctors told Wick that Jill would remain in a coma indefinitely, and for a while it looked like they were right. Not that Wick ever believed them.
"I would feel pressure, like Jill was squeezing my hand. I would see her eyelids flutter and the doctors and nurses told me that all of those things were just involuntary muscle spasms," she said. "But I knew. I knew that Jill was there, just waiting for the right moment to come back."
Six months after Wick found Jill lying unconscious on her bedroom floor, she went to visit her daughter at Lutheran Memorial.
"Just like I did every morning, I went over to her bed and kissed her on the cheek," Wick said, "and then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, she opened her eyes and kissed me back. Now, I am not necessarily a religious person, but I have to tell you that there is no other answer. God’s miracle was absolutely instantaneous."
After recovering from her own shock, Wick ran to the nurses station and began screaming for the staff to go see Jill.
"First the nurse came in and Jill gave her a kiss," Wick said. "Then the doctor came in and she kissed him. It was absolutely amazing. Nobody could believe it."
That morning, Jill Wick defied every doctor who said she would never awaken. To this day she continues to defy her skeptics by making small, but important strides every day.
For example, doctors told Wick that Jill would never be able to communicate with others. Although Jill can not form words properly, she is able to talk by using a series of sounds and her speech is getting clearer and clearer every day.
Additionally, she no longer needs the feeding tube that sustained her for months. She is now able to eat on her own.
Although Wick said she realizes Jill is different from other 20-year-olds, she does see a fulfilling future for her daughter.
"I understand that Jill has a severe brain injury and that she will never be like another person her age, but that doesn’t mean she will never be able to accomplish anything," Wick said. "Look at how far she has come already."
As for the distant future, Wick said she sees Jill working with children who have handicaps, possibly in a teaching position.
"But for right now," she said, "I think we will focus on getting her to the park this summer."
That may prove to be a bigger challenge than one might think. Although Jill is allowed out of the hospital, she is wheelchair bound, which makes it impossible for her to be in a regular vehicle.
Wick pays monthly for a special wheelchair-equipped van and she is working to purchase one so Jill can come home any day of the week.
"We have spaghetti at my house on Tuesday," Wick said, "and it would be amazing if Jill could come home and join us one day."
In addition to the van, Jill’s hospital bills are substantial. The young woman has special hyperbaric oxygen treatments that she goes to in blocks.
"As soon as I raise enough money I schedule another block of treatments," Wick said. "That’s why this upcoming fund-raiser is so important."
The "Angel Wish" dinner-dance in honor of Jill will be held on May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Jackson Mills firehouse on County Line Road. Tickets are $25 and Linda is hoping to fill the firehouse.
As Linda explained, the dance is aptly named, "because Jill is an angel and it is my wish for her to come home."
"I will not turn a soul away," she said. "I am grateful for anyone who would come to help my daughter."
At present, Jill is receiving treatment at a hospital in Toms River, but Linda said she will never give up hope that one day her daughter will be able to come home for good.
"Whenever I start to feel discouraged, I look at Jill, and I see her blue eyes, and I am floored by her determination," Wick said. "I look at her, and I say to myself that she deserves everything in the world, and I have to try my hardest to give it to her."
For more information on attending the "Angel Wish" dinner-dance or to make a donation, contact Linda Wick at (732) 942-1960.