kay.cookie
New Here
On August 6th of last year, at around 6:30pm, my life changed forever in one split second. One moment I was riding in the passenger seat of my long-time boyfriend's beater Ford sedan, on our way to spend the evening at an event after working at our part-time college jobs; the next, someone in the other lane decided to pass a line of cars on a solid line, following somebody else, as we were coming around a curve, and hit us head on. We were both going about 50mph. I don't remember anything roughly a few hours before and a week after the crash; this is all based on what others have told me. Especially my boyfriend, who, other than blacking out for a second on impact, remembers everything like it was yesterday. He remembers seeing the grill of the other driver's car just before it hit us, and then waking up to shattered glass in his face and his girlfriend (me) seizing and drooling in the seat next to him.
I had a severe brain injury, broken neck in 2 places, broken foot (4 crushed metatarsals and a broken toe), and broken ankle in 3 places. I was seizing, unresponsive at one point, my pupils were blown, I was posturing, and I was given a score of 8 on the GCS scale based on my body's responsiveness (1-9 is considered severe/fatal...0 is dead, 3 is in a coma). When they got me to the hospital, they found that I had a subdural hematoma (bleeding under the skull) and my brain had a midline shift due to the force of the blow it had experienced on impact. They had to cut my skull from my forehead, over the top of my head, and all the way down down behind my ear in order to stop the bleed and reduce the pressure/swelling. After brain surgery, my neurosurgeon told my parents that I had a 50/50 chance of survival, and that wasn't even taking into consideration any potential deficits I was likely to have for the rest of my life due to the severe brain injury.
Within 72 hours post-surgery, after they had begun to wake me up from sedation, I began to follow commands (like holding up a certain amount of fingers). Then I began requesting to communicate (I had an intubation tube down my throat so I couldn't talk, but they gave me a pen and paper to write). I began writing and asking about what happened and where I was.
Thankfully, my boyfriend lucked out much better than I did with his injuries, although his were also severe. He had a very badly broken distal femur and many lacerations from the broken glass. Based on the pictures taken for evidence by his surgeon, it honestly looked like a grenade exploded on his knee.
It has now been a little more than 6 months since that night. I have no cognitive deficits, other than not being able to remember anything from directly before and a few days after the crash. I was in a wheelchair and full body/neck brace for over 3 months, and I had to take off a semester from college. I'm back to taking classes now, but I'm still going through physical therapy and waiting to be able to start work again to pay for my classes. My biggest obstacle right now is my healing ankle; it still hurts with every step I take, and I still can't run. I used to be a fairly active runner; I did track and cross country throughout high school and climbed the highest mountain in my state just weeks before the crash. I'm determined to get back to that, although my doctors tell me that likely won't happen until later into this year. I still limp to class with a very stiff ankle and I have a long ways to go; but some days are better than others.
The person who hit us is back to her life as usual. She apparently has no remorse and doesn't understand how it was her fault because "she was hurt too" (she was driving a much bigger car and got away with a couple broken ribs...) Charges are still pending, she has been very difficult and uncooperative with the whole process, and has offered no form of any condolences for nearly killing us.
Despite all this, I'm very fortunate to be alive. Even more so, I'm incredibly lucky to be functioning normally and without any cognitive deficits. I'm so glad to still have my boyfriend of over 3 years by my side as we both recover and work towards getting back to life the way it was before it seemed to stop in its tracks. I believe we both had an angel watching us that night, and for that I'm forever grateful.
I had a severe brain injury, broken neck in 2 places, broken foot (4 crushed metatarsals and a broken toe), and broken ankle in 3 places. I was seizing, unresponsive at one point, my pupils were blown, I was posturing, and I was given a score of 8 on the GCS scale based on my body's responsiveness (1-9 is considered severe/fatal...0 is dead, 3 is in a coma). When they got me to the hospital, they found that I had a subdural hematoma (bleeding under the skull) and my brain had a midline shift due to the force of the blow it had experienced on impact. They had to cut my skull from my forehead, over the top of my head, and all the way down down behind my ear in order to stop the bleed and reduce the pressure/swelling. After brain surgery, my neurosurgeon told my parents that I had a 50/50 chance of survival, and that wasn't even taking into consideration any potential deficits I was likely to have for the rest of my life due to the severe brain injury.
Within 72 hours post-surgery, after they had begun to wake me up from sedation, I began to follow commands (like holding up a certain amount of fingers). Then I began requesting to communicate (I had an intubation tube down my throat so I couldn't talk, but they gave me a pen and paper to write). I began writing and asking about what happened and where I was.
Thankfully, my boyfriend lucked out much better than I did with his injuries, although his were also severe. He had a very badly broken distal femur and many lacerations from the broken glass. Based on the pictures taken for evidence by his surgeon, it honestly looked like a grenade exploded on his knee.
It has now been a little more than 6 months since that night. I have no cognitive deficits, other than not being able to remember anything from directly before and a few days after the crash. I was in a wheelchair and full body/neck brace for over 3 months, and I had to take off a semester from college. I'm back to taking classes now, but I'm still going through physical therapy and waiting to be able to start work again to pay for my classes. My biggest obstacle right now is my healing ankle; it still hurts with every step I take, and I still can't run. I used to be a fairly active runner; I did track and cross country throughout high school and climbed the highest mountain in my state just weeks before the crash. I'm determined to get back to that, although my doctors tell me that likely won't happen until later into this year. I still limp to class with a very stiff ankle and I have a long ways to go; but some days are better than others.
The person who hit us is back to her life as usual. She apparently has no remorse and doesn't understand how it was her fault because "she was hurt too" (she was driving a much bigger car and got away with a couple broken ribs...) Charges are still pending, she has been very difficult and uncooperative with the whole process, and has offered no form of any condolences for nearly killing us.
Despite all this, I'm very fortunate to be alive. Even more so, I'm incredibly lucky to be functioning normally and without any cognitive deficits. I'm so glad to still have my boyfriend of over 3 years by my side as we both recover and work towards getting back to life the way it was before it seemed to stop in its tracks. I believe we both had an angel watching us that night, and for that I'm forever grateful.
Last edited by a moderator:
