CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A goof, that’s how Jamie Horton would describe his 12-year-old son, Hayden.

She says her son has no trouble making friends with everyone he meets, which is why she’s still trying to understand what happened to him last month.

“He loves everyone,” Horton said. “He’s a really empathetic kid.”

Horton says that on his way home from school, his son was choked by a high school student for an unknown reason on the school bus. She says that based on her daughter’s account of what happened, the bus was stopped.

“It was an experience you could never have imagined,” Horton said. “She messaged me and said a kid on the bus had Hayden in a headlock.”

Horton says the headlock lasted 14 seconds, which doesn’t seem like a ton of time, but in reality it was enough to change a person’s life forever.

“When Hayden got home he had scratches on his neck, he was upset, but he didn’t want to talk about it,” Horton said.

A week later, Horton was in the back of an ambulance with her son en route to Monroe Carrell Children’s Hospital in Nashville. It was there that doctors discovered that Hayden had suffered several strokes that led to a massive stroke.

They say it came from a tear in the vascular muscle in his neck. A tear that could only be caused by twisting or contortion, doctors say.

“It’s almost like a nightmare every morning when you wake up,” Horton said. “You kind of forget where you are, and then you have to replay everything in your head over and over again. The fact that he doesn’t speak is probably the hardest thing.

Horton says the next thing she knew, investigators from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Department of Children’s Services came knocking. What shocked her the most was when DCS investigators gave her details about what was on the bus surveillance video.

“An adult on the bus made a comment saying, ‘Well, Hayden, you might as well back out,'” Horton said. “It kind of turned my world upside down.”

As a result of the incident, not only are DCS and MCSO investigators investigating what happened, but so is the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. While the investigation continues, two CMCSS employees have been placed on unpaid leave.

“What kind of security is there on this bus if things like this happen,” Horton asked. “If they are considered the caregivers of our children, they carry our children, not just one or two. They have more kids on the bus than a typical teacher has in a classroom. They must be able to handle any type of situation that arises.

Horton says his concern lies in whether something like this has ever happened. She says she wants to make sure nothing like this happens again.

“That’s what we’re waiting for,” Horton said. “Being able to talk to him, being able to hear him.”

The Montgomery County prosecutor says he is aware of the case, but is waiting until the investigation is complete before reviewing it to determine what charges might be filed.

Hayden’s next steps would be rehabilitation, for which the family is still fine-tuning the steps.

“He’s a kid and kids are resilient and Hayden is a fighter,” Horton said.

They are grateful for the support they have received so far from Hayden School and the community. They set up a GoFundMe to help reduce the costs associated with his care.

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