Five years after trauma, teen reunites with doctors

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

A miracle in the lanky shape of an 18-year-old high school senior walked into Riley Hospital for Children last month.

A miracle because Matthias Pfister might never have walked out of the hospital in the first place – five years ago when he was critically injured in an auto accident near his Danville, Indiana, home.

Matthias suffered a devastating head injury, multiple broken bones and a stroke for starters. He was comatose, literally dying, said doctors who brought him back from the brink.

The teen’s return to Riley was triumphant in ways his doctors, his therapists, even his own parents can’t truly know.

Only Matthias knows the extent of the internal and external struggles he faced hour after hour, day after day, month after month to get him here today.

He has come to Riley with his parents, Kyle and Lauren Pfister, to reunite with some of the intensive care unit team who cared for him in those early uncertain days when his life was literally in their hands and in the hands of the neurosurgery team.

“He will probably walk out of the hospital as one of the truly most amazing recoveries I have ever seen,” said former Riley neurosurgeon Dr. Jeffrey Raskin in 2020.

PICU physicians Dr. Matthew Friedman and Dr. Brian Leland are inclined to agree, but what has brought them to the lobby of Simon Family Tower five years later to see this young man – a boy of 13 when he was injured – is the chance to witness a happy ending in the flesh.

As PICU doctors, they don’t often get the chance to see their patients once they are stable enough to be moved to another unit.

“This is what we hope for,” Dr. Friedman said, as he took in the sight of a 6-1(ish) Matthias greeting him with a solid handshake and a half hug. “These are the patients we live for and train for.”

A “full-court press” is how he describes the medical intervention that saved Matthias’ life. It’s a basketball term Matthias can appreciate. The senior at Ben Davis High School manages his school’s basketball team and plays the game in a church league. He also plays golf for his school’s team and bowls.

Dr. Friedman, who saw Matthias a few months after the accident when he was still struggling to walk and talk in rehab, recalled that his patient suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, bleeding in multiple areas of the brain, a stroke and dissection of an artery in his brain.

Surgeons performed a decompressive craniectomy to remove part of his skull, repair scalp lacerations, debride the brain and stop the bleeding.

“It takes a huge team of people between the neurosurgery team and the PICU team and all of our nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists and rehab,” Dr. Friedman said.

So to see that same patient five years out from the crash smiling and joking with doctors and therapists on the PICU and in the inpatient rehab unit, even pointing out his old room in rehab, was a day to remember.

“To see you now is just incredible,” Dr. Friedman said. “In the ICU, so often we see kids and … get them better, but where they end up, we don’t always know, so thank you so much for coming back so we can see how awesome you’re doing. Seeing patients recover and come back and tell us they’re going to college, that’s what makes it worth it.”

“We get you to the beginning of your recovery,” agreed Dr. Leland, “but we usually don’t have the luxury of seeing what one year, three years, five years out looks like.”

It’s not just how far Matthias has come, but where he is going.

The recipient of a $20,000 college scholarship from the Kiwanis Club’s Abe Lincoln Awards, Matthias will graduate from Ben Davis this spring and has been accepted to Indiana University Indianapolis to study neuroscience. His goal is to become a vascular neurologist, focused on strokes and brain injuries like he suffered.

“My passion for neurology has grown from my accident,” he said. “I want to help other children who have experienced brain injuries like me or other defects. I just want to give them the best chance to succeed.”

His parents, who have held space for their son’s pain, as well as their own these past few years, couldn’t be prouder.

“We are so excited and really proud of him and all of his hard work,” Lauren Pfister said after the awards program in February, just days before the five-year anniversary of the crash. “It brings up a lot of emotions, but we’re just excited that we can celebrate another year with him.”

Thinking back to those critical first few days in the ICU, she remembers the fear and the desperate search for hope.

“Some tough memories and stressful days,” agreed her husband.

To be on the other side of that trauma with the hope that each new day brings is a gift that humbles them.

“Thank you so much,” the teen’s mom said to the doctors. “Thank you for being honest with us throughout the journey. You helped us get through that next minute, that next hour.”

When asked if it is hard to be reminded of the accident, Matthias is matter-of-fact: “I’m reminded of it every day, but it makes me grateful for another year.”

The one sport Matthias hasn’t been able to return to is his beloved baseball, but he could take the field again in September as a Riley First-Pitch Kid, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at an Indianapolis Indians game.

While he has made a remarkable recovery, he still struggles to fully move his left arm and hand. His gait is mildly affected. But nothing stops him from moving forward.

“When I was here, it was all about working hard, getting better, one step at a time. Now, I’m just happy that I’m here,” he said while talking to the PICU physicians. “I’ve always had a positive attitude, so I just focused on the positive things.”

“That seems to have worked out pretty well for you,” quipped Dr. Leland, who added that he and Dr. Friedman will be glad to offer advice and encouragement as Matthias dives into the study of medicine. They even agreed to have the teen shadow them on the job down the road.

The whole ordeal has brought the family (including Matthias’ two younger siblings) closer together, Lauren Pfister said.

“You don’t take anything for granted. You spend as much time together as you can, sharing love and care for each other. You just never know what tomorrow will bring,” she said.

“The better he gets, the better we all get,” Kyle Pfister said. “We got pretty lucky overall. After Matthias woke up (in the PICU), he could not move his legs for almost a week. He promised us he would walk out of there on his own when it was time to leave, and he did just that.”

Matthias, who still sees rehab specialist Dr. Sara Cartwright at Riley, said he continues to work hard, grateful for the second chance he was given, grateful to the Riley team who didn’t give up on him.

“I want to thank them for supporting me through my journey, no matter how bad things looked at some point,” he said. “Thank you for saving my life. Hopefully, I will accomplish my dream of becoming a doctor someday.”

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org

Previous stories:

A horrific crash, a remarkable recovery - A 13-year-old athlete couldn’t walk or talk after a serious accident. Now nearly three months later, Matthias Pfister is inspiring his parents and his hospital care team.

Danville teen continues remarkable recovery from near-deadly accident - Matthias Pfister is not only walking again, he’s running. And he can’t wait to get back on the baseball diamond.