Who is the man living in downtown Nashville with half his brain exposed?

In September, photos and video went viral of a man rumored to have half his brain exposed living on the streets of downtown Nashville, and what at first seemed to be an unbelievable situation turned out to be true. The man was identified when a Nashville resident came to his aid, and more is now known about what caused his horrific injury.

Content warning: Images of the man missing half his skull are still online, and they’re graphic. After weeks of seeing the posts and hearing the rumors, a Nashville resident who wishes to remain anonymous sought the man out with Tennesse journalist Nick Beres, and they took him to get help, NewsChannel5 reported. Jonathan Johnson, 39, has now been identified and has received medical treatment.

According to Johnson, he was involved in a car crash as a pedestrian about seven years earlier and had a plate put in his head. Not long before pictures and video showed up online, he had complications and had the plate removed but left before the procedure was completed. Before Johnson was tracked down, unconfirmed online comments said he rejected medical treatment because they wouldn’t let him vape in the hospital.

Posts mentioning Johnson before he was identified described the alarming situation. “Me and my daughter (2 years old ) were just walking down Broadway and she pointed him out to me and started crying because she was scared that this man was my brother (who is blonde, has a beard, and my bro smokes) he is not. I have no idea who this man is, but he gave a scare,” one X post said.

But Lisa Davis, Johnson’s mother, who lives outside the Nashville area and had lost contact with her son, later said her son lived with mental health and addiction issues and, after leaving the hospital, lived unhoused. “He’s afraid of doctors,” Davis told NewsChannel5 of why Johnson left the hospital before his new plate was installed. “They can’t heal him. He is tired of having surgeries. He is tired of all the medicine.”

Johnson is now living in a home

When the so far unnamed Nashville good samaritan intervened, Johnson was treated at a local hospital and was reportedly living in a group home. Before Johnson was helped, posts said he’d been seen as far back as 2021, that some had approached him and offered help, but he declined, and that many had called 911 when they spotted him. After receiving help, however, Johnson said, “It’s not that I don’t want help. I do want help. Very few people has tried to help me. If I got to do another surgery to get the metal plate put back in so the skin can grow over it I’d be glad to.”

It’s hard to believe, but humans can survive for quite a while with their brains exposed to the air, especially if the skull is cleaned and well cared for. There is a risk of infection and swelling, but brains, while delicate, have no pain receptors. Still, Johnson’s condition was life-threatening, and he needed immediate medical attention. At this writing, Nashville Metro Councilman Jordan Huffman was raising funds to help Johnson recover.