Class of 2024:
Dontel Jones
Meet Dontel Jones. Dontel was the 13th the recipient of The ‘Kel Strong’ Scholarship awarded in August 2024. At the time of birth, he was a healthy baby. Going into Dontel’s junior year of high school, tragedy struck. On August 15, 2022, Dontel was in a really bad car accident on his way to play basketball with friends that resulted in a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) to the left side of his brain. Upon impact, he fractured his left temporal and hit his head a few more times, causing his brain to begin to bleed. He was immediately rushed into surgery where they removed a large part of his left skull and any damaged tissue. Since then, Dontel has had multiple surgeries and procedures to reduce the swelling in his brain and to help his body learn to function on its own again. He spent three months in the ICU and one month in a rehabilitation hospital. Although he is now home, Dontel is still currently 100% dependent and requires around-the-clock care.
Because of the extent of his injuries, Dontel is still non-verbal and cannot walk. He requires multiple therapies weekly to get him back on track. This accident has been life-changing for not only Dontel but his entire family. He was only 16 years old at the time of his accident. He still has upcoming surgeries and medical expenses arising as this is going to be/has already been a long road to recovery.
To date, Dontel has attended his senior prom and graduated high school. He can sit on the edge of the bed and is very responsive. He is the typical teenager and it shows when he does not want to be bothered. These past few weeks, he has started smiling more and more. He continues to make progress daily!
“I applied for The ‘Kel Strong’ Scholarship because I needed help,” says Dontel’s mom. When a person has a brain injury to the severity of Dontel’s, therapy (Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy) as well as necessary equipment is very important for their recovery. Private insurance has limits and once those limits have been reached, they stop paying. It is not fair to the family or the patient. “I had the pleasure of meeting Kel in the hallway at TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation one day and I asked him when the foundation would start taking applications, to let me know, and he did. I had forgotten that I even applied. When you are told NO, it becomes the norm. The day before Dontel’s 18th birthday, we found out that he was accepted. This has helped Dontel so much. Financial barriers have been a challenge and any help that we can get, we are grateful. Kel and The ‘Kel Strong’ Foundation have been such a pleasure and a blessing,” says Dontel’s mom.
We wish Dontel all the best in his recovery and have no doubt he will overcome his injury and achieve incredible things in his bright young future!
