Split Second Spotlight: A Journey of Hope

A little less than two years, but it’s been a long journey with tragedy and now hope. In late February 2020, 20-year-old Anthony “Stevie” Stephens II crashed into an oak tree in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and was air flighted to a hospital in Rapides Parish, where physicians told his parents that their son, who had suffered a brain injury, had only a 10 percent chance of survival. As days turned to weeks, Stevie held on, but as his dad, Tony Stephens, points out, his prognosis remained bleak. 

“They were talking about how Stevie would be in a vegetative state, and that he would never talk,” recalls Tony. “It was a lot of doom and gloom.”

His parents never gave up and became his caretakers. For months, Stevie went through a series of recovery steps and ping ponged between facilities in Gulfport, Alexandria and New Orleans. Finally in July, he was back at home in Hattiesburg, and weighed only 113 lbs. He continued his rehab in Hattiesburg.

January arrived and Stevie’s therapists wanted to cut his visits from three days a week to 1-2. Tony fought this because he knew Stevie could continue improving, and the family realized it was time to look for a new place. Unfortunately, there are very few facilities in the United States that specialize in working with individuals, who have experienced paralysis, or other neurological conditions.

Through a stroke of luck, Tony heard about the recently opened Split Second Fitness Center (SSF), and days later the family is at the center, meeting Fitness Director Quanteria “Q” Williams-Porche. The center has much more equipment than the previous facility, and Tony was immediately impressed with Q’s skills and presence.

“She’s this little lady, but she’s not scared or intimidated,” Tony says. “She stands him up, and she just knows what to do. We knew this was where we needed Stevie to come.”