Branchville teen who lost leg in crash reaches new milestone in his recovery, receives prosthetic leg

BRANCHVILLE, S.C. (WIS) - BRANCHVILLE, S.C. – (WIS) Nearly three months after losing his leg in a horrific accident, a Branchville teenager reached a new milestone in his recovery on Tuesday.

On October 27, 19-year-old Jayquan Abraham’s life changed forever, when he was struck by a car while walking along Highway 21 in Smoaks.

Last month, he was fitted for his prosthetic leg.

On Tuesday, he took it home and walked away from his wheelchair.

He is now getting around with the help of a walker.

“It means a lot,” Jayquan said. “I thought my life wasn’t going to get back the same, but now I feel like I’m like everybody else. I can walk again.”

Some doctors did not think he would recover this quickly either.

After the accident, the prognosis was that he may need to spend three months in the hospital, and it would probably be half a year before he walked again.

His prosthetist, Tripp Rice, said Jayquan’s recovery is going so well because he is self-motivated.

“Three months is quick,” Rice, who is also the owner and CEO of AOPI Prosthetics and Orthotics, said. “I mean you have to go through the healing process for one, then you have to go through the atrophy, the limb’s still big. So for him to be able to put this thing on and take off and start walking like he’s doing today, I mean that’s nothing short of incredible.”

Jayquan said he is thrilled, and feels a sense of relief.

As he works toward a full recovery, he is elated about the possibilities that await him.

“I feel excited to see where this journey is going to take me,” he said.

Jayquan added that he believes his journey is going to take him “far, real far.”

He can now reclaim some of the independence that was stolen from him in the crash, his mother Lakisha Abraham, said.

“Now that he got the prosthetics, he can get up and get what he needs on his own, and manage a little bit more himself,” she said. “Instead of being dependent, he can go back to being independent.”

His family set up a GoFundMe to help pay for his prosthesis and medical expenses. As of 8 P.M. on Tuesday, it had raised more than $3,700.

Jayquan said he was shocked by that generosity.

“I used to check it like every 30 minutes,” he said. “Thank you, thank you for your support. Thank you for motivating me to be stronger than what I am.”

Lakisha is overwhelmed by the community’s generosity in support of her son as well.

“We’re thankful, we’re grateful that it really helped us get where we need to be,” she said.

When asked why she thinks the community responded in this way, Lakisha said, “We serve a God that’s bigger than us so people gave from their hearts.”

Jayquan said he is most excited about getting back in the gym and playing basketball.

The Branchville High School team, which he helps coach, had a game on Tuesday night.

“Sometimes the kids motivate me more than I motivate myself so I just love being around them,” Jayquan said.

The next step for Jayquan in his rehabilitation is to work to get around on his own, without crutches or a walker.

He will begin weekly physical therapy as early as this week.

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