Critical days ahead for 24-year-old Hoover burn victim Christian Cooper
It has been almost a month since 24-year-old Christian Cooper suffered third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body in a Feb. 27 car wreck on Interstate 65.
This coming Monday will be a critical day in the Hoover man’s recovery at a burn center in Augusta, Georgia.
Cooper is scheduled to receive grafts of his own unburned skin that have been stretched and grown in an incubator at a lab in Boston, his father, Earl Cooper, said.
Now, his body is covered with cadaver skin to help protect him, and that skin has to be replaced every couple of weeks, his father said. But his body should respond much better to his own skin, he said.
“It’s exactly what he needs to come back from where he is now,” Earl Cooper said.
Earl Cooper (a Hoover school board member and retired Alabama Power executive) and his wife, Kay (the principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary-Cahaba Heights) have talked to people who have undergone this procedure before and are encouraged by the results, he said.
The road for Christian Cooper has not been easy. He stays sedated most of the time because of the pain and can’t talk because he’s using a tracheostomy tube to breathe, so communication is difficult, his father said.
He’s basically sitting around wrapped up like a mummy and looking at the ceiling all day, Earl Cooper said. He doesn’t remember everything day to day, so his family reminds him that he’s in a safe place and is OK and encourages him to relax and not be anxious.
He’s also battling an infection for which doctors have yet to figure out the source, and infections are the biggest concerns for burn victims, his father said.
The Coopers are staying in a place called the Fisher House at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon — about six miles away from the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta. It’s a temporary home away from home for military veterans and their families dealing with medical crises.
They go to the burn center every day and get to visit with their son four times a day.
“All you want for your kids is to provide them the best opportunity to be successful, no matter what they do,” Earl Cooper said. “We are here giving our son the best opportunity to be successful … We’re just there to give him the courage to keep pushing.”
The doctors and staff at the burn center are at the top of their field and keep the family well informed about what is happening, he said.
Meanwhile, the Coopers and their daughter, Erin, said they have been overwhelmed by the support coming from thousands of friends and family. The number of prayers, gifts, cards and messages has been unbelievable, they said.
Friends of Christian had red “Courage4Cooper” bracelets made and placed in about 15 locations in Hoover, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Birmingham, Erin said. People have been sending photos of themselves wearing the bracelets all over the world, they said.
“It’s been really incredible,” Erin Cooper said. “We feel very blessed and are very humbled. It seems everybody wants to help in some way, form of fashion.”
On Monday, the Coopers received a photo of Alabama football coach Nick Saban personally autographed for Christian, who is a University of Alabama graduate. When they showed it to Christian, “He just shook. It was so exciting for him,” his dad said.
Then today, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed a proclamation, declaring Monday, March 28, 2016, as Christian Cooper Day in the state of Alabama.
The Alabama House of Representatives also passed a resolution, sponsored by Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, commending Christian Cooper for his bravery and courage while facing a tremendous personal battle.
“Christian’s fortitude and indomitable spirit serve as a testament of hope grace and strength to countless others,” the resolution said. “We, along with the good people of Alabama, will serve as his cheering section during his journey back to health.”
The path for Christian will be a long one, but his family is encouraged, his dad said. “We’re totally optimistic.”
Christian’s sister, her fiancé and cousin set up a Courage4Cooper website and Facebook page and a Caring Bridge page to chronicle his road to recovery. Also, a GoFundMe page was set up where people can make donations to help the Coopers with financial costs associated with Christian Cooper’s care. As of March 22, $16,550 had been donated.
Read the account of the people who pulled Christian Cooper from his burning car.