Second Chance at Life – On Saturday January 4, 2014, I was on my way with my youngest of 6 children (then 5 years old] to pick up two of our daughters from a sleepover. The last sleepover for our oldest who was due to leave for college that next Monday. We had a busy weekend planned, including my husband’s birthday celebration the next day. Originally, my husband was supposed to go with us, however he got called into work at the last minute so we ended up leaving just about the same time. He took our van to work and I borrowed my mom’s van so we didn’t have to cancel plans for the day.
I buckled my son into a 5-point restraint car seat, buckled myself, backed out of our driveway & headed down the street for a fun filled day. Little did I know, that we would not arrive. The girls called… no answer. Everything changed in the shadow of those unanswered calls. Literally everything!
Multiple Injuries
BAM!!! A catastrophic head-on collision less than 2 miles where I was to pick up the girls. My seat belt failed at impact and I ended up being ejected approximately 10-15 feet from the vehicle out and over the passenger side window frame & landed face down on the road. Austin would unbuckle himself, let himself out of the van into traffic, to find me surrounded in a pool of blood & unconscious. He would call “mommy mommy get up” repeatedly with no answer. The good Samaritans on the scene would assist my son, keep me still and check on the other driver.
I suffered a complex high energy blunt polytrauma with multiple injuries. This included a hairline pelvic fracture, several spinal fractures, shattered (comminuted) right scapula, all my ribs on the right broken in multiple places causing a flail chest, broken right wrist, multiple fractured teeth, multiple lacerations, abrasions, & bruising – including the bruising across my body from the seatbelt, a closed traumatic brain injury (TBI), laceration from my eyebrow into my right hairline to the top of my head, & my right thigh fileted open. The right swollen closed eye looked as if someone had placed a plum on top of my face as it filled with fluid, blood, inflammation around and behind my eye. I was in excruciating pain all over that not even an epidural and multiple medications could help manage. The battle for my life began at impact and has continued since.
Years of Various Therapies
Time seemed to cease in those moments that followed. Memories erased. A reset button on my life. I remained in the hospital for 3.5 months, inpatient neurorehab, years of various therapies, multiple reconstructive, progressive & lifesaving orthopedic surgeries along with additional weeks of hospital time. I learned to walk again, survive pain I never knew to exist or had ever endured previously, feed & dress myself again. It would take me just about 2 years to completely be out of the wheelchair as I learned to sit up on my own and walk again. I progressed from wheelchair, to a walker, and then to a cane. Nothing about my recovery has been easy, smooth sailing, or without rare complications. There have been though, many seemingly unexplained miracles. We’ve had to advocate staunchly for various levels of care. My caregivers (primarily my husband or mom) handled all my hygienic care, toileting, bowel movement clean up, meal preparation, medication delivery, bathing me, dressing me, transporting me and many other things we all take for granted being able to do for ourselves until I was able to again.
I’m grateful that I’ve been given a miraculous second chance at life. I’m grateful that my son sustained no obvious physical injuries; that the good Samaritans did not move me; that the emergency responders moved me without paralyzing me; grateful to the elderly couple who kept my son safe until police arrived; to the officer who distracted my son while I was being worked on; for all the great healthcare providers & all the horrible ones as well – they all have taught us valuable lessons in advocacy, survival, & finding our voices in a sea of trauma. I am grateful for my husband, mom, & kids for their selfless dedication, sacrifice, & commitment to my recovery. The word HOPE my mom hung in my hospital room became the focal point of my recovery to this day – even 5 years later.
I’m currently reinventing myself in my new life with my new normal, finding the joy in each breath, lingering painful movement and opportunity for personal growth. I’m grateful for God’s grace & the ability to share HOPE with others through articles, testimony and HOPE TBI, a website I created dedicated to bringing awareness to Polytrauma and Traumatic Brain Injury.
For more information on HOPE TBI please visit: www.hopetbi.com
Never Give Up HOPE!
Caren
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Caren is a courageous and inspiring woman. We thank her for being a member of our online support group and sharing her story with us. We wish her continued positive healing in her ongoing recovery and thank her for everything that she continues to do!
Are you interested in sharing your story? We want to hear from you! Send us an email at: info@crashsupportnetwork.com and it may be published on our website or in our quarterly newsletter.
The Crash Support Network is a unique website consisting of an online support group, a Crash Survivor Blog written by a survivor, our Sharing Our Recovery Newsletter, informative articles and a Virtual Crash Memorial. Our website is based on relationship-building and puts the needs of survivors first by creating a helpful resource for victims and survivors of motor vehicle crashes.
