Beloved graduate student finally on the mend

By Matt Rupel

Last week, Santa Clara alumni and graduate student Jerel Dutton gained consciousness for the first time in 31 days. He spent 30 minutes with his loving parents who explained to him that he'd been in a very serious car accident. They told him that the accident had caused severe damage to his ankle, hand and brain as well as to his spine, and that he had had to have his right leg amputated before he drifted back into a drug-induced coma.

Dutton, a beloved member of the Center for Student Learning, was in a car with two friends returning from a vacation in Mexico during Thanksgiving break when the vehicle hit a guard rail and flipped over, flinging him from the car.

His parents have spent the past several weeks with him at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he has spent most of his time in a drug-induced coma fighting to survive. The full story of his fight is made available through daily updates at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jereldutton, where people can also make donations to support the Dutton family's medical bills.

According to different staff members from CSL, Dutton had a wonderful impact on everyone that he met. Many began to tear up speaking of him. "The cool thing about working in the activity center is there are no walls here. You could always see Jerel roaming around here," said senior Tony Amaya, a student assistant in the CSL. "We're all one big happy family in here, so it was pretty somber when the accident happened."

"Jerel is one of those people who's willing to take on any task and give it a shot," said Joni Berticevich, the administrative assistant of the CSL. "He's really warm and loving, he's a talented musician, and he's really easy to get along with. Everyone here is close to him, it's hard not to be friends with him. I also think of him as if I were his mother."

Alissa Christenson, the assistant director for the CSL, has worked particularly closely with Dutton since he was assigned as her graduate assistant at the beginning of the year, and she was particularly confident that Dutton would recover to a full life.

"Jerel is a surfer, a skier, he's involved in everything. I see, in my mind I have a clear vision of the day that Jerel surfs again, the day that he skis again. He's just one of those guys that will never give up. He's absolutely wonderful and it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about him," said Christenson.

According to Christenson, Dutton played a key role in bringing about different aspects of the Locatelli building. She said that Dutton is the reason for a lot of the equipment and for the setup of the recreation area in Locatelli.

Dutton and Christenson together created the idea of Bronco Nights, a late night activity for students during finals week to help them relax with music, massages and food.

Last December, Locatelli held the first Bronco Nights shortly after the accident. One of the musicians and friends of Dutton suggested turning the event into a charity for Dutton and his family. The event was quickly turned into a small benefit in honor of Dutton and to raise awareness about the struggles he and his parents were facing.

According to Christenson, another fundraiser will be held to help with the Dutton family medical bills in the Locatelli building sometime later this year.

"We still need to work out some of the logistics," she said, "but it will most likely be either in late February or in March."

Dutton earned his degree in psychology from Santa Clara and is now working on a master's degree in higher education while working at CSL. In addition to surfing and skiing, Dutton is a talented musician and DJ. He is both a vocalist and guitarist. His music is featured on his web page, jereldutton.com.

There will be a benefit held for Dutton and his parents to help alleviate the heavy financial burden of the medical care. This benefit will be held on January 15 in Tahoe, where Dutton and his family are from. All donations, large and small, are being accepted. Those able to donate can do so by contacting jerelduttonbenefit@yahoo.com.

Although Dutton has made remarkable progress in his recovery, he still has a long road ahead of him. He has spent an entire month in a coma, and the doctors are just now starting to take him off of the sedation medication.

Dutton is regaining his ability to speak, although he still slips into incomprehensible speech, something common or brain injury patients. Dutton also goes through extreme and uncontrollable agitation, during which he can even inadvertently remove tubes that connect him to his life support. This is also a stage that recovering brain injury patients go through, but it is one of the hardest for loved ones to see.

Over the past 41 days, Dutton has had many major surgeries performed on his body, including the amputation as well as several reconstructive surgeries on his hand, foot, and face. He just had the tracheotomy removed from his throat and has begun breathing on his own. Not only does his body need to recover from the severe damage it suffered during the car accident, Dutton needs extensive time to recover from the procedures.

Dutton's parents, Lance and Debbie Dutton, have spent almost all of their time during the past month at their son's side. They have witnessed the tragic suffering Dutton must go through, but they have also witnessed the miraculous progress that Dutton has made in his recovery so far. They know that their son still has a long way to go, and they ask for prayers and wishful thinking from all those around them.

To donate to the Dutton family medical bill account, visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jereldutton/tributes and click the donate link to wire money from a credit card or PayPal account.

Contact Matt Rupel at mrupel@scu.