BEECHGROVE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Bryan Eidel's chances of walking again are slim to none, but that wasn't always the case.
Fifteen months ago, Eidel fell off a motorized scooter in Nashville, causing him to need emergency brain surgery.
By last August, he was on the mend and even relearning how to walk. But then his treatment changed, and because his parents were not his legal guardians anymore, they had little say in their adult son's medical care.
They've watched their son's condition decline dramatically and are sharing their heartbreak in hopes someone will listen and help.
April 20, 2024, was like any other day for Eidel, until he hopped on a motorized Lime scooter to head home from downtown Nashville, like so many do.
"He got on one of the Lime scooters, and to this day we don't know what happened," said Dean Eidel, his father.
The 47-year-old's parents, from Coffee County, didn't find out their son was in a horrible scooter accident until two days later, after he'd had emergency brain surgery at Vanderbilt and after his boss called, wondering why he hadn't shown up for work.
Eidel was in a coma for nearly three months. When he woke up, miraculously, he recognized his relatives and recalled bits and pieces of the accident.
"When I got to talk to him, he said, 'Mom, nothing hit me. There wasn't a car,'" Kim Eidel, his mother said. "He said he went between two signs, lost his balance, and it threw him onto the road, and he didn't have a helmet."
From Nashville, Eidel went to Shepherd Center in Atlanta — a specialized rehab facility — for seven weeks of intensive therapy to recover from his brain injury.
"The people were amazing," his parents said.
He was beginning to heal and even relearning how to walk when his insurance coverage suddenly stopped. Legally, there was nothing Dean and Kim could do for their adult son.
"Nobody would talk to me because I wasn't on Bryan's policy. Trying to get bank accounts, trying to get all this other stuff taken care of, I couldn't get done, because I had no guardianship," Dean said.
In the last year, Eidel has been moved from rehab to rehab, back in the hospital with infections and pneumonia, all while his family says they were forced to watch from the sidelines.
"To see your son go from this to where he is now, it just breaks my heart. I can't believe they would let him go this far," Dean said.
Earlier this summer, his parents finally regained guardianship, but after so much time lost, he's regressed significantly and lost so much strength.
The Eidels want to bring Bryan home. They've renovated and added a ramp, but he needs around-the-clock care, and his insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, cut him off.
"We don't know who to talk to, or how to get anything done," they said.
They hope someone hears their story and can help their son recover once and for all.
"There's a reason he's still here. Yeah, that's how we feel. There's a reason he's still here," his parents said.
A guardianship or conservatorship is usually set up only when someone is unable to make decisions. One of the best steps you can take is to draft a living will, which can outline your wishes regarding medical treatments in life-threatening situations.
Have legal or insurance challenges impacted your family like the Eidels? Your voice could help make a difference. Email me at Hannah.McDonald@NewsChannel5.com.
This story was reported on-air by Hannah McDonald and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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