SEYMOUR (NBC 26) — Max Rozmiarek suffered a traumatic brain injury in May after a work accident at Dan's Tire in Seymour.
According to the accident report, the 18-year-old Rozmiarek was hit in the head with a tire rim, crushing a part of his skull.
His mother, Becky Rozmiarek, described the moment as "a mother's worst nightmare" and said Max was flown by helicopter from Seymour to Green Bay for surgery.
He was then flown to Froedert Hospital, a Level I trauma center in Wauwatosa, for further care, where's he's spent the last two months.
During those past two months, Max spent time in a coma, with damage to his frontal lobe, and Becky said doctors said he might not ever walk or talk again.
However, what was anticipated to be a year-long journey in Wauwatosa turned into two months, and Becky said Max is defying all odds.
"We were able to bring him home on Friday the 30th," she said. "It is amazing to have our son with us. We didn't think that we would ever see him again in this condition."
She said right after the accident happened, doctors showed her the X-rays and there was a lot of brain trauma, but the most recent X-rays show "no visible signs of brain trauma on his head."
"They are just telling us it's a miracle," she said. "He should not have lived through this."
"He's such a strong kid. I mean, after seeing him going through this and fighting through it, I believe he's a lot stronger than any of us because who can come back from such an accident like this," Dean Rozmiarek, Max's father, added.
Becky said Max is able to talk, and he is walking with help, expecting to walk on his own soon.
Max said he doesn't remember most of his time in the hospital, but he said he spent every day in the hospital working in intensive physical, occupational and speech therapies.
Max said he was "ready to go home" and was "keeping his family and friends in mind" when recovering in the hospital.
"I'm overjoyed to be home that's for sure," Max said. "No more hospital bed, so that's one thankful thing to be for. Seeing everyone again is a wonderful feeling. I love seeing my family, my friends be together in one spot again."
Max said he currently gets migraines, and his vision is impaired in his right eye, so he may need another surgery. He's also working with home health care every day to do daily tasks.
Regardless, he said he's "ready for the next step."
"I wanna drive and visit my friends again, how it used to be," Max said. "I want my life back so... paintball, fishing, hunting, I wanna do all that stuff again. I'm ready."
His parents said they are "thankful" for all of the community support and, most importantly, to have him home.
"We realize that life can be taken away so quickly," Becky said. "You come into a reality that you're like, you know what, life is really short."
