Posted on: Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Traffic victim marks year of slow progress
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAHUKU — Daniel Mapu wasn't supposed to survive the serious head injuries suffered when he was struck by a pickup truck a year ago today.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser Despite the progress, doctors say he will never again live a normal life.
But the family that rallied around him and has maintained an around-the-clock vigil for the entire year refuses to give up hope.
They have made his recovery a family project.
"All our lives have changed," said Daniel's mother, Maryann Mapu, who quit her job to take care of him. "All our schedules center around Daniel."
Five of Daniel's six siblings — four sisters and a brother — along with Maryann Mapu and his father, Simi Mapu, a Honolulu police officer, are involved with his care at Kahuku Hospital. That's the closest they could get him to their home in La'ie.
Daniel's sister Natile Mapu, 25, left her job in Utah and is now his "director" of care, said Maryann Mapu. Another sister, Ane Mapu, 23, returned from her church mission in June and is at the hospital from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
Daniel's brother Jimmy also puts in time at the hospital and is known as the supervisor and family cheerleader. He writes the updates that appear on Daniel's Web site, danielmapu.com.
The other brother, J.T., is away at school but stays in touch regularly to see how Daniel is doing.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser "We'll do this as long as we need to," she said, adding that the family celebrates Daniel's every progress. "We're just waiting for him to hurry up and get up."
Daniel had joined friends a year ago today to hold anti-drug signs on Kamehameha Highway near Puakenikeni Street in Ka'a'awa when a Kahuku-bound pickup truck veered off the road, striking him. As he lay in the road he was hit again, this time by a Kane'ohe-bound van.
The accident is still under investigation pending medical reports about Daniel's condition, police said yesterday. His prognosis will determine how the truck's driver will be charged, police said.
Maryann Mapu said she has no hard feelings toward the driver and, in many ways, she feels she has been blessed since the accident, from the people who have been inspired by Daniel's story to the way the community has come together to raise money for the family and build a room for Daniel when he eventually comes home to stay.
Daniel was in a vegetative state for weeks, but little by little he made progress: fighting off pneumonia while in a coma, coming through surgery that would allow him to leave The Queen's Medical Center, where he was in intensive care for a month, and finally speaking his first word, "Mom," when a new breathing tube replaced an old one.
Today he can wipe his face with his left hand but he has little control over his right hand. His speech has not returned except for a few words. He communicates by raising his eyebrows for yes, shaking his head for no, and pointing.
Daniel, 22, is even well enough to go home on Sundays.
His family has set goals for him, like sitting up on his own and eating on his own — he's fed through a stomach tube — and encourages him to keep trying. They're at the hospital around-the-clock keeping him alert, flexing his limbs and helping with therapy when they can.
"The doctor said that his clinical opinion was Daniel will never be back to his normal self. He'll never be able to care for himself," said Maryann Mapu. "But (the doctor) said faith, hope and prayer, those things will probably work."
She said she thinks Daniel's progress is hindered by two anti-seizure drugs he is taking that make him drowsy and unable to perform tasks. Once he can quit the drugs, progress should improve, she said.
One exercise to stimulate his brain is to show pictures of family members and ask who they are. Jimmy Mapu said that on good days, Daniel will get everything correct; on bad days, when asked such things as where his nose is, Daniel will wrinkle his brow and look at him with stink-eye, as if to say: "Stop asking me silly questions. I'm not stupid."
Don Olden, CEO at Kahuku Hospital, said Daniel's care has been an integrated effort by the family and hospital. Olden said he is impressed with the family.
"That boy is so lucky to have such a good extended family," Olden said. "I have seen other families do this, but not on a long continuous spell like I've seen with him."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
But the former Kahuku High School star athlete is showing the same grit he displayed on the football field, and today he can sit up, walk with help, even say a few words.
Maryann Mapu wheels son Daniel back to his Kahuku Hospital room. A year ago, during a roadside campaign against drug abuse, he was struck by a pickup truck and, as he lay on the pavement, by a van.
Everyone takes a turn at the hospital, said sister Ane, a schoolteacher. She reads to Daniel, gets him to sit in a chair twice a day and rotates his arms and legs to keep him limber. She said that if her brother were well, she would probably move to Utah to live and work because she likes it there, but she doesn't give it much thought now.
Daniel Mapu, 22, holds on to his mother, Maryann Mapu, as his uncle Davis Pili steadies him from behind and his aunt Rowena Pili steadies his right leg. (Another aunt, Nellie Pili, is steadying his left leg.)
