Parents hope classmates' support will help son recover

RAYTOWN, Mo. -- As classmates watched, 11-year-old Jeremy Tye collapsed while running a lap in gym class in March and was whisked away in an ambulance.

Jeremy's parents are hoping the visits and kindnesses from many of those classmates since then will be enough to pull him through.

When he arrived at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, doctors said a congenitally tangled blood vessel had burst in his head. He underwent a several-hour surgery to remove a blood clot, and has been in a semi-coma ever since.

On Friday, his parents took him to Spring Valley Elementary School in a wheelchair to take part in the fifth grade's ceremonial serenade through the halls. Classmates wearing buttons with his face on them surrounded him, many of them trying to talk to him at once.

That's the kind of support he's received since his March 17 collapse. His classmates often visited him in the hospital, taking him cards, stuffed animals and tapes of themselves singing.

"I have just been so impressed with what these students have done, all the cards and letters and this," said his father, John Tye.

In a semi-coma, Jeremy has his eyes open, but he doesn't respond.

His friends also raised $1,000 through a car wash and skate party to help his parents pay for home-health care. Students said helping their friend has taught them a lot about compassion.

Some experts in consciousness disorders believe environmental stimuli such as video and audio tapes can help aid in recover. Children's Mercy neurosurgeon John Grant said he doesn't know if Jeremy is being helped by all the attention, but it does seem to be helping the family.

"All we can do is sit back and wait," Grant said. "It may take some time -- many months to a year for him to reach his plateau. I don't know what his plateau is. But, when I look at his brain, it looks good. So I would not write off his improving just yet."