ARNOLD, Mo. — An 18-year-old who was paralyzed from the waist down during a work incident over the summer will soon return to his home in Arnold, Missouri, after months of rehab.
Jordan Ayers was unloading tables for an event company in June in Pacific when one reportedly slipped and hit his head, causing him to snap his neck.
On Monday, his mother Tabitha Hardy told 5 On Your Side he had already made progress quickly.
“Not controlled completely but he still can move his arms. He's fed himself a few times. He's brushed his own teeth,” she said.
Hardy showed pictures and video of Ayers spending most of his summer at a rehab facility in Chicago to which the family had traveled back and forth.
Meanwhile, Hardy said that thanks to the generosity of his community, things have shaped up back at home for the young man’s return in a couple of weeks.
Outside of his home in Arnold sits a large shed donated by Lowe's and a new ramp built by a Spire crew and coordinated by an administrator at Fox High School, where Ayers had just graduated from two weeks before the incident.
That is all thanks to Kevin Wilson with the Arnold Police Department, who is a school resource officer at Fox High School where Ayers had just graduated two weeks before his incident. The vice president of the Arnold Police Officers Association said he used his community outreach connections and relationships with businesses throughout the area to help, including helping fix Hardy's car to help with commutes to the hospital and rehab.
"Being involved with these kids you always want to drive to succeed when they graduate and it was devastating to hear when I heard what happened after he had graduated,” Wilson said.
Hardy had cleared out the entire living room to make room for his new bed, lift and other resources that people had provided in order for to Jordan function when he returned home.
The family also created a photo wall to welcome Ayers.
“I'm not going to treat him like he's any different," said Alexander, Jordan’s little brother. "That'll give him support and I'm always going to tell him he's going to power through this.”
Close to $9,000 had been raised on GoFundMe for Ayers as of Monday night.
His family noted that they were still waiting for his last check from his employer.