November 25, 2008
Trooper recalls injury, miracle recovery

By MICHAELA GIBSON MORRIS
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

Read this story in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

This Thanksgiving, the Hood family truly knows the blessing of good health, family, friends and second chances.

Eight months after a traumatic head injury, Steve Hood is back on the road as a state Highway Patrol trooper, having requalified to return to full duty.

"Steve, you are a miracle," Steve Hood said his neurosurgeon Dr. Louis Rosa, told him at a recent visit. "The good Lord took care of you."

On March 12, Steve Hood was on his tractor, pushing bushes and small trees out of the way, clearing the way for a fence on the family's 60-acre property in Union County. A large limb, about six inches wide and about seven feet long, broke loose and fell like an arrow onto Steve's head.

"All I remember is pushing it," said Steve Hood.

It struck him on the right side of his head, throwing the brain against the left side of his skull, severely damaging the areas that control speech and memory. The damage was so bad, he couldn't recognize his family.

But even as things went so wrong, so many things went right.

Because it was spring break, Hood's son, Matthew, and his son's friend, Tyler Cooksey, were home helping him. Otherwise he would have been working alone.

"I would not have found him until I got home several hours later," said Lisa Hood, who is the North Mississippi Medical Center pediatric floor coordinator.

Trooper Ray Hall happened to be patrolling unusually close to the Hood's home when the call for help went out; he was the first trooper to arrive on the scene. Hall recognized the severity of the situation, called in the helicopter crew and used his state-issued GPS to bring the helicopter directly to Hood.

The NMMC Flight Crew had met with troopers days before the accident and talked about procedures for the troopers to call them in directly, Lisa Hood said.

"I owe a lot of it to the quick response we got," Lisa Hood said.

Instead of being discovered about 4:30 or 5 p.m., Steve Hood was in surgery with Rosa.

"It was touch and go for several days," Lisa Hood said. "When he began to wake up, he was still confused."

When Steve was moved to the NMMC step-down unit after nine days in the critical care unit, Lisa Hood and the troopers who helped her would spend hours walking the halls with Steve.

"The patrol is a great family," Steve Hood said. "We take care of each other."

After five days, he was transferred to Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson for intensive therapy. Rosa prepared the family for a long rehabilitation, Lisa Hood said.

About 10 days into his stay at rehab, something clicked.

"The light switched on and he began asking questions," said Lisa Hood, who had to go back and forth between Jackson and Union County. "His speech was still weak, but every day it got stronger and stronger."

A week later, Steve Hood was able to put on his uniform and attend a ceremony where Gov. Haley Barbour honored Ray Hall for his actions.

"Everyone got emotional," Steve Hood remembers. "I looked poor, but I was proud to put on my uniform."

After that, Steve improved so fast, he was beating the therapists at the rehab games. His daughters, Stacie and Stephanie, would text him on his cell phone. He went home a week earlier than expected from rehab, and had only two sessions of speech therapy in Tupelo.

"Even the doctors can't believe I got so much better," Hood said.

Hood was eligible for retirement, but was eager to get back to the job he loved.

"He had his fill of television," Lisa Hood said. "It was very hard to keep him down."

In August, he requalified on the emergency vehicle course and firing range at the Highway Patrol Academy in Pearl.

"They put me back to full duty," Steve Hood said.

On Dec. 11, Steve Hood will turn 50, and he says he realizes how blessed he has been. He'll be sharing his story next week during the men's luncheon at Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo.

"I was left here for some reason," Hood said. "This is the third time I've almost died. I hope I can learn and understand what God intends for me to do."

Contact Michaela Gibson Morris at (662) 678-1599 or michaela.morris@djournal.com.