Senior Jay Ying Returns to Graduate

The summer after his upper year, in 2012, senior Jay Ying suffered a traumatic accident that led to a severe brain injury and went unconscious. “I literally couldn’t breathe when I got the phone call, and I will never forget that as long as I live,” his mother, Lisa Ying, said.Three months later, he awoke from his coma, unable to speak, walk or move his right arm or leg. “There were stretches of time when I didn’t think he would ever wake up. It was an extremely trying time,” his sister, upper Katie Ying, said.Remarkably, he has returned after a two-year absence, and will walk across the stage to receive his diploma with the class of 2014 this June.“It was definitely a huge shock to the dorm when it happened. A few of the guys were even on Penn's campus,” senior Nikhil Chuchra said. “He's a Wentworth brother, and we really missed him. The class of 2013 was beyond dismayed when they heard the news and found out that Jay would not walk at Grad with them,” he said.Through Jay’s unconscious months, the Ying family moved from Hong Kong to Philadelphia, where they felt Jay could get the best care for his injuries. During his time in the coma, his mother lived with him in the hospital. “The longest I would leave was for a couple hours,” she said.“I credit his survival to the doctors, my dad, but most of all, to my mom. She was there for all his surgeries and was meticulous about writing down everything about his care,” Katie Ying said.After awaking from the coma, Jay lived in inpatient care for six months at Moss Rehab in Philadelphia and as an outpatient for a year. “I went to Moss and relearned everything,” he said. “At first I couldn’t talk at all. I couldn’t even sit up. I used to be right-handed, but now I use my left hand for writing.”Jay was an outstanding patient, said his family, and the hardest working many of the therapists had ever seen. One therapist who worked with Jay called him the most inspiring and dedicated patient she had ever had, after 14 years of work.“Jay has always been this way; if he sees a goal, he dedicates all his energy into achieving it,” Katie Ying said. “He has surpassed any expectations any doctor could have possibly had for his recovery.”Chuchra said that he admired Ying’s attitude towards recovery. “He put up a Facebook status that was really optimistic, saying 'hey guys, I'm doing better' which was really great to see,” he said.This term, Jay returns to Exeter to graduate as a member of the Class of 2014. His mother said that from the time he could communicate again, he said that he wanted to come back to Exeter.Jay explained that while he wasn’t at Exeter to graduate last year with his original Class of 2013, “I wanted to graduate here, and nowhere else.”His return and recovery process, however, has been difficult. Jay has undergone twelve separate surgeries, and now has aphasia, which makes it hard for him to articulate verbally the thoughts and words in his head.Katie spoke of the stereotypical success story shown in the media where “people fall 40 stories or wake up from a coma and are fine,” but said that that isn’t a realistic expectation for any brain injury patient.Still, she said, Jay’s relentless perseverance has led him to an incredible recovery, considering the damage. “A therapist once said, ‘doing therapy with a brain injury is like running a marathon and taking the SAT all in one day, every single day,’” Katie said, adding that he would return to his room at night to do more exercises on his own, supervised by his mother and always ready to do more.Jay’s close friends in Wentworth said that they sent him cards and a few videos, but it was hard to stay in contact. Jay agreed that keeping in touch with friends has been difficult, but he is extremely enthusiastic to return. “The good thing is that I still have quite a lot of people I still know on campus, so it's great seeing everyone again,” Jay said.“He’s been doing a really fantastic job,” senior Kamresse Bounds, who is a friend and Wentworth resident, said. “He’s come a long way.”Chuchra also found Ying’s perseverance to be remarkable.“He’s handling the situation so well—he’s a little frustrated that he can’t speak everything on his mind, but the important thing is that he’s back on campus with us. We’re really glad to have him back and it’s great that he remembered our names, especially since a lot of us didn’t think that he would be coming back,” Chuchra said. “ It's pretty amazing how level-headed he's stayed while talking to us when he's trying to remember small things.”His adviser and countless other adults on campus have also been inspired by his story.“I am thrilled to see Jay back, battling, and doing so well. His presence here is in part a marker or celebration of his achievements since the accident,” Jay’s adviser and English instructor Nathaniel Hawkins said.Jay thanked the Exeter community for helping him along the journey. “So many people here have supported me in my return,” Jay said. “I can’t wait to graduate with my old friends.”