Brain Trauma Survivor Exemplifies Power of Persistence

Graduates with Honors despite Lifetime Fight with Brain Trauma

Much has been written about the power of persistence. It’s the subject of many a famous quote. Every one of them could easily apply to Jeremy Gregory (pictured center). From the moment he was born, he has been fighting for his life and the opportunity to have a future.

Shortly after birth, Jeremy was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition that causes the buildup of fluid deep within the brain. Initially, his mother was told he would not likely live past age five. Doctors installed a shunt to control the condition, the first of eight surgeries over the next five years, the most drastic of which involved the breaking and rewiring of cranial bones.

Jeremy developed seizures, endured severe headaches, and even contracted meningitis. Finally, he managed to enjoy several years with no issues. Then in 2010, he was struck in the head, shattering one his shunts. That set off another series of seizures and blackouts. In 2015, he had surgery once again, but this time his recovery was such that it allowed him to return to school in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. Jeremy enrolled at ECPI University in Greensboro and began studying business administration.

Things went well, at first. Then came 2016. “I was working on some assignments for a class and started having headaches again,” says Jeremy. “I had them so bad that I could only use my computer for 30 minutes or less at a time.  The headaches were eye strain-headaches that were so strong they made me nauseous to the point that I would have to sleep for a while before continuing my assignments.”

Medication allowed Jeremy to keep up his studies, but further tests revealed that a meningioma on his brainstem was growing. He was sent to a neurosurgeon who scheduled him for high-dose radiation. Shortly afterward, he had another surgery for a clogged drainage tube in one of his shunts. Jeremy seemed to be recovering well, so he returned to school and his job at Walmart. Then, complications forced him back into the hospital and into yet another surgery.

Jeremy credits the support he received from faculty and staff at ECPI University for helping him continue his studies throughout it all. While that may be the case, his own persistence also had a lot to do with it. “Dr. Scales came and visited me in the hospital,” says Jeremy. “That was on a Friday and my head was completely wrapped with bandages.

“She told me to not worry about my school work or attendance, and to just concentrate on healing. I told her that if I got out of the hospital on Sunday, I would be in class Monday morning. She laughed, but she also knew how stubborn I can be.”

Sure enough, Jeremy was released on Sunday and he was back in class on Monday. That was last October, and he has been moving forward ever since. Throughout his time at ECPI University, he has managed to schedule all of his doctor’s appointments and surgical procedures around his studies, graduating having never missed a single day of class.

Now at age 33, Jeremy is about to graduate with honors, the first in his family to earn a college degree. “No matter what life threw in his path, he just jumped the hurdles,” says Scharlie Coleman, student success coordinator at ECPI University’s Greensboro campus.

“He was even working on homework and emailing me from his hospital bed the same day as having surgery. To this day, Jeremy is still following his plan with an incredible amount of perseverance. Watching him walk across the stage at graduation is an event that I never doubted would happen, but is one that I am very much looking forward to. He will go on to do great things because he is determined to do so.”

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