Outerbridge family holding onto hope during holidays

About a week and a half ago, the Outerbridge family finally put up their Christmas tree.

With heavy hearts, they strung lights and placed ornaments, trying to have some semblance of a normal holiday while their oldest son is unable to join them.

Despite the difficult year they’ve been through, Jennifer and Nick Outerbridge are holding onto hope and traditions, not only for the sake of their other children – Noah, 11; Ella, 8; and Gracie, 5 – but because it is what Caleb would want.

Caleb, now 17, remains hospitalized in a minimally conscious state after a rare autoimmune disease – acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which causes inflammation and lesions in the brain and spinal cord – suddenly took hold just before last Thanksgiving.

More than a year later, Caleb is showing subtle signs of awareness, but he is unlikely to ever be the same young man he was before.

Jennifer and Nick Outerbridge and their three youngest children, Noah, 11, Ella, 8, and Gracie, 5, pose for a photo with their oldest son Caleb, now 17, at the hospital in September. Caleb, who suffered a rare autoimmune disease just before last Thanksgiving that rendered him unconscious, has been making progress as he heals from brain injury caused by the disease. — Jennifer and Nick Outerbridge and their three youngest children – Noah, 11, Ella, 8, and Gracie, 5 – pose for a photo with Caleb, now 17, at the hospital in September. Caleb, who suffered a rare autoimmune disease just before last Thanksgiving that rendered him unconscious, has been making progress as he heals from a brain injury caused by the disease. (Provided by Jennifer Outerbridge)

As impossible as it may seem to face a second Christmas without him, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Caleb, if he could, would be feeling jolly right about now.

Caleb loved the holiday so much that he couldn’t wait until December.

He would listen to Christmas music in June.

So, the Outerbridges decided not only to decorate their tree, but also to blast Mariah Carey’s Christmas classic and other holiday tunes while doing so.

“Everyone was having a hard time, but I said, ‘Caleb would want Christmas music on,’” Jennifer said.

Celebrating the senior

In October, Jennifer and Nick had to decide if they wanted to participate in a tradition that was special to Caleb for a different reason.

They were on the fence, as they knew it would stir up complicated emotions, but in the end, they chose to attend senior night at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School.

It was a night Caleb looked forward to.

No. 20 on the varsity football team, Caleb would have been a senior this year.

He was honored at senior night with a banner that included a photo of him in his football uniform. Jennifer and Nick walked out to a cheering crowd on the field when Caleb’s name was called.

Nick and Jennifer Outerbridge pose for a photo with their son Caleb's helmet as they attended the Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School football team's senior night celebration in October 2025. — Nick and Jennifer Outerbridge pose for a photo with their son Caleb's helmet at the Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School football team's senior night celebration in October 2025. (Provided by BBCHS)

“I looked over and saw so many people screaming, and that just made me smile,” Jennifer said.

The banner now hangs in Caleb’s room at La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where he’s currently being treated.

After hearing about senior night at school, the hospital threw Caleb his own senior night, decorating his room with things he loves, such as football and fishing, and inviting his family to celebrate with him.

Status update

In some ways, Caleb’s status is the same as it has been for months, but in other ways, he has defied doctors’ expectations.

Caleb has been able to respond to questions by gazing in a particular direction with his eyes to indicate the answer. He can blink to communicate yes or no, and he can move his feet or legs on command.

However, his success with these tasks is not always consistent.

“To some people, they might look like little improvements, but for brain injuries, anything [counts],” Jennifer said.

Caleb also has begun grabbing things, such as his breathing tube, signifying a level of awareness.

“He’s got a ninja grab,” Jennifer joked.

When given a small blue football, Caleb will roll it around in his hands and grip it like a real football.

“It’s almost alarming how aggressively he grabs it,” Nick said.

Caleb Outerbridge, now 17, is presented with a signed football to celebrate his senior night from his hospital room in October. Caleb, who suffered a rare autoimmune disease just before last Thanksgiving that rendered him unconscious, has been making progress as he heals from brain injury caused by the disease. — Caleb Outerbridge, now 17, is presented with a signed football to celebrate his senior night from his hospital room in October. Caleb, who suffered a rare autoimmune disease just before last Thanksgiving that rendered him unconscious, has been making progress as he heals from a brain injury caused by the disease. (Provided by Jennifer Outerbridge)

Caleb started showing facial expressions as well, such as smiling when hearing his mother’s voice on a video call.

“I’m sure there’s some things that we dig into that might not be anything,” Jennifer admitted.

“We’re optimistic parents,” Nick added. “We’re trying to see whatever we can see in it.”

Because of these kinds of reactions, doctors agree that Caleb is not in a vegetative state, but rather a minimally conscious state.

Patients in a minimally conscious state show minimal but definite signs of awareness.

By contrast, those in a vegetative state show no evidence of self- or environmental awareness and give no purposeful responses.

“We’re still not sure what he perceives,” Jennifer said. “He’s definitely there, for sure, which almost makes it even harder, thinking about what this must be like for him.”

Recently, they got to help Caleb experience a small moment of joy and familiarity.

With doctors’ permission, they dripped a few drops of Prime sports drink – his favorite beverage that he used to devour cases of – into his mouth, and his face seemed to light up.

Recovering

Right now, Jennifer and Nick are figuring out the next place for Caleb to receive care.

Hopeful plans to transfer him to a nursing home near the family’s Bourbonnais residence did not work out.

The family still is in search of a facility where Caleb can receive the care he needs and, ideally, not be too far from home.

Eventually, they would like to care for him at home.

Caleb is recovering from two wounds – one on his shoulder and the other on his tailbone – which appeared shortly after he became ill.

The wound on his tailbone turned into a stage 4 pressure wound and became infected. Caleb was sent for treatment at La Rabida, where he’s been since June.

The wound has gotten smaller, but it is deep. Surgical options might be taken in the future.

Another possible surgery might happen to replace the bone flap removed from Caleb’s skull. Replacing the bone could help improve cognitive function.

Earlier this year, Caleb was accepted into the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago, but it soon became apparent he wasn’t ready.

Once he arrived, his progress in physical reactions seemed to stall. He wouldn’t have been able to handle four to five hours of intense physical therapy per day.

With his recent progress, however, it is a possibility that he could someday return.

Balancing act

Jennifer and Nick don’t fit neatly into any category. They aren’t mourning a child that has died. They don’t have a sick child they can go and comfort in any tangible way.

“We haven’t lost him,” Nick said. “He’s still alive, but we’ve kind of lost him.”

As they approached the one-year mark since their vibrant, active son suddenly became unresponsive, the couple felt some anxiety.

Caleb was taken to the hospital Nov. 25, 2024.

When that date on the calendar came this year, it was a somber moment for the whole family, conjuring up hard-to-describe feelings.

“I hate how time is going on,” Jennifer said. “His fingerprints are being wiped away, and we’re doing everything we can to not make that happen.”

As parents, they are in the complicated position of having to advocate for their son while grieving for him at the same time.

“It’s not like it happened and we can move on,” Nick said.

Jennifer and Nick Outerbridge and their three youngest children, Noah, 11, Ella, 8, and Gracie, 5, pose for a photo with their oldest son Caleb, now 17, in his hospital room, decorated to celebrate his football senior night in October. Caleb, who suffered a rare autoimmune disease just before last Thanksgiving that rendered him unconscious, has made progress showing signs of awareness and interaction. — Jennifer and Nick Outerbridge and their three youngest children – Noah, 11, Ella, 8, and Gracie, 5 – pose for a photo with Caleb, now 17, in his hospital room, decorated to celebrate his football senior night in October. Caleb, who suffered a rare autoimmune disease just before last Thanksgiving that rendered him unconscious, has been making progress as he heals from a brain injury caused by the disease. (Provided by Jennifer Outerbridge)

As a mom, Jennifer is grateful that her son is still fighting, but she is heartbroken by his situation.

“It’s kind of opened my eyes to how lucky we are now with our three healthy children,” she said.

She’s learned to appreciate the little things – things as small as waking up in the morning.

“You never know what will be the last hug or the last ‘I love you,’” she said.

For Nick, his perspective on life and parenting has drastically changed.

“As a parent, I was trying to get Caleb to be a good man when he was an adult,” Nick said. “Now, I don’t know if we’re going to get to that adult. So, you’ve got to try to enjoy your time with them.”

“It’s not all about the future,” Jennifer added. “You have to be present.”