Finding Jaime

Chapter 119

GUILTY!
Accused in Fall Out Boy Guitarist Son Assault Face Jail Time

LOS ANGELES - Just before Christmas last year we reported on the physical assault perpetrated against the son of Fall Out Boy guitarist Pete Wentz, 16-year-old Jaime Clarke.

Following a visit with some friends in Santa Monica, the teen was found brutally beaten at the foot of the driveway leading up to the Wentz home in Beverly Hills.

The teen spent two months in a coma and had begun showing signs of improvement before he woke. He had been beaten so badly that he'd had to have surgery to remove a portion of his skull to allow for swelling on his brain. The teen was left with several broken bones, skull and facial bone fractures, internal injuries requiring emergency surgery, and unknown brain injuries.

Jaime was released from the hospital last month to return home, where he is receiving daily around the clock medical care as well as therapies to help him recover. He is currently in what is being described and a vegetative state.

"Jaime seems to have no awareness of the world around him at this time. For a brief period, he seemed to be recovering and was able to communicate with blinks and squeezing hands. That stopped shortly after an infection of the membrane around his brain after the surgery to replace the piece of skull that had been removed," a spokesperson for the family told us.

Jaime's father, Pete Wentz, only learned of his son following the death, from cancer, of his long-ago girlfriend, Tanya Clarke. Ms. Clarke succumbed to brain cancer, a similar type to the cancer young Jaime battled last year.

Both Jaime and his father were present in the courtroom during the trial of the four youths charged in connection with the assault.

"I brought Jaime to the courthouse so those boys could see what they did to my son. They left him a shell of who he was. He can't move, speak, eat on his own. We don't know if he can hear or see because he can't tell us. We don't know if he's in pain or how bad it is. We can't tell if he's getting sick until he is at a crisis point in some cases," the senior Mr Wentz said. Jaime was readmitted to the hospital for an infection earlier in the month.

Mr. Wentz testified as to how the assault and his son's current condition has affected both his family and Jaime himself, which was evident by simply looking at the young man sitting in a wheelchair, eyes open but clouded, no life visible beyond his breathing.

The four youths charged in connection with the physical assault and battery of young Mr. Clarke were all found guilty of aggravated assault and battery, attempted murder, unlawful confinement and battery with intent.

Three of the four will face significant jail time while the fourth, who aided police with finding the other three assailants, faces a shorter jail sentence and community service.

➰➰

Jaime POV
I can hear everything going on around me. Sometimes, I can see what's happening. I can feel Marvel in my lap and I can hear Anya, who says she's a nurse, when she comes.

But I can't hear all the time. I can't tell when it's daytime or nighttime all the time. I can't see all the time. Some days everything is dark and silent. Some days all I want to do is scream and yell and tell people I'm here!

I can't tell them when I'm in pain. I can't tell them when I feel sick. I can't tell them when I'm hungry or thirsty, though that seems to be taken care of somehow.

Dad has been taking me in the pool. That's been nice. Relaxing, actually. I feel so much more relaxed when he does that.

And Anya is actually really nice. She doesn't talk to me like I'm some brain dead moron or something. Dad and the family are the same. I just wish I could tell them I can hear them and sort of see them. Usually.

Besides the pool, my favourite time is any time Marvel is in my lap. She just sits there and talks to me about what she's done during the day. I like hearing about that.

I like that no one is treating me much different. Even though I can't seem to tell them how much I appreciate it, I'm glad they're pretty much treating me normal.

Although, court was boring. When I could see, all I could see was wood panelled walls and a boring ceiling. And all I could hear was people droning on and on. Dad would try to tell me what had gone on, but it was so boring half the time I fell asleep.

That's the other thing. I can't always tell if my eyes are open or not. Especially when I can't see anything.

I just wish I could tell someone something.

The one thing I've noticed is that no matter what Dad has planned or is attending, if the family is going, they bring me as well. I might not be able to talk to anyone or do anything, but Dad and Mom aren't leaving me at home while the rest of the family goes out. Dad always makes sure I'm included.

Right now, Marvel is in my lap, Dad has turned on some music. Anya is here. I heard her talking to Dad and then Mom.

Bronx and Saint are having an argument about something. It doesn't sound serious.

I know when it gets darker, Dad will carry me upstairs and put me in my bed. It's not my usual bed. There's something different about it. But it's comfortable.

Anya stays nearby at night. She keeps my desk lamp on and sometimes I can hear typing. So she's typing stuff on a laptop, I think.

I've heard the TV as well. She usually asks if I mind if she watches TV. I don't. Sometimes it keeps me awake, but I don't mind. She watches stuff that sounds funny sometimes.

The other night she asked if I minded if she watched "The Golden Girls". I like that show. My mom, my birth mom, used to watch that. It relaxes me and I usually fall asleep with that on in the background. It's comforting.

But I want to live. I miss doing stuff.

How do I fix this?