Slow recovery for teen who lost arm

Holt resident Jacob Mashburn can’t drive his five-speed Chevrolet Cavalier anymore.

Jacob, 17, didn’t lose his license. He lost his arm.

“I can’t shift the gears,” Jacob said.

On Nov. 10, Jacob was a passenger in a truck that slammed into two pecan trees. The wreck shredded his right arm, which had to be amputated above the elbow.

Now, Jacob is trying to get his life back on track. It will be six months to a year, however, before Jacob recovers enough that he regains some sense of normalcy.

He still hasn’t returned to school and his parents drive him to Pensacola seven days a week for treatment. He is undergoing daily intravenous drips to treat a bone infection, two bacterial infections and a rare environmental infection that has settled in the remaining portion of his arm.

Jacob also faces months of physical therapy before he can be fitted with a mechanical arm.

Shriners Hospitals for Children, in Tampa, will fit Jacob with a prosthetic. It will take many more months for him to learn to use it.

What was really chafing Jacob on a recent day is that his car has been sitting idle since the accident.

He’ll have to get a car with an automatic transmission but won’t be allowed to drive until he completes a doctor-approved simulator course for amputees.

“The doctor said he is not ready for the simulator yet,” Jacob’s mother, Lisa Griffin said.

That has been a source of chagrin for Jacob.

“They won’t even let me get in the simulator,” Jacob said. “I don’t understand it. What would it hurt to let me try it?”

There are a few things about the wreck that bother Jacob.

For one, he is nervous riding in a car traveling at high speeds and won’t get in a car with someone who has consumed alcohol.

“Even if they have a sip, he won’t ride with them,” Griffin said.

Holt resident Cody Myers, 18, was behind the wheel the night his truck struck two trees, ripping the cab from the body.

Neither Jacob nor Myers were wearing seat belts and both were ejected from the truck, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper reported after the wreck.

The truck was “traveling at a high rate of speed,” the trooper reported.

Jacob and Myers are still friends and Jacob does not want people to be angry with his friend over the accident.

“He’s like a brother to me,” Jacob said of Cody. “I love him.”

A bank account to help defray medical expenses for Jacob Mashburn has been set up at Regions Bank. To contribute, send donations, “In care of Jacob Mashburn,” to account number 0081602065. Donations can be made to any local Regions Bank branch.