Strength, Determination and Love

Although it is not on the list of stressors, I am going to talk about a man-made "disaster" that almost claimed the life of my little sister.  Christy was 9 years old when she was hit by a car while walking across the street.  The car hit her going 35 mph; it threw her 20 feet down the road and she landed on the left side of her head, on the curb.  The doctors gave her two hours to live...they called the whole family to the hospital to say good-bye.  Although I was only 13 at the time, it was one of the worst days of my life.  Somehow, Christy surprised everyone and made it through those first few hours. She went on to have 9 brain surgeries and was in a coma for a month and a half.  There were several times during that month and a half where she started to fade...I believe she "coded" twice because her lungs collapsed.  When she came out of the coma, it was as if everything had been erased from her memory and she was back at toddler/preschool level.  She had to learn everything over again - walk, talk, feed herself, go to the bathroom, etc.  For the longest time the only thing she could say was "Heather Ann," the name of the cousin she had spent the night with before the accident. 

While we were very fortunate and blessed that she survived, it was very sad and upsetting to see her have to start over.  The week before the accident, my parents had received Christy's scholastic test scores in the mail.  She was in 4th grade but most of her scores were 8th and 9th grade level.  One test actually scored in the 11th grade level.  Christy was super intelligent.  Even the talented and gifted classes were easy for her.  And now, everything was gone.  But, we come from a family of fighters...we never give up!  Christy was surrounded by family and friends who loved her and was ready to help her overcome the challenges she faced.  She went through intense physical, occupational and speech therapy.  She had personal tutors who came to the house to get her on track with academics.  Christy went back to school the following year in a wheelchair.  Although she was only one year behind her original classmates, no one wanted to be her friend anymore.  Kids are very cruel at that age and they all managed to live up to that label.  Before the accident, Christy was a very popular little girl.  She was beautiful inside and out, but people typically judge you by the outside and she fit the description of a cheerleader - petite, tanned, long blonde hair, blue eyes...just beautiful! But when she came back to school, she was in a wheelchair, her hair was about 1 inch long (they had to shave her head due to the brain surgeries) and the right side of her body did not function well because of the brain damage.  You can imagine some of the things that were said.  Somehow, she overcame this and made a few friends in her new class.  She graduated from high school still only 1 year behind her original class.

Today, Christy is married and has a beautiful little girl of her own, Siera Brooke, who (much to the satisfaction of us) is just like her.  If you would talk to Christy now, you would never know that anything happened to her.  If you pay close attention, you will notice that she walks a little different because the right side of her body did not develop as well as the left, but it is a very slight difference.  She has problems with short term memory and therefore could not go on to college, but she is very happy and we are very lucky to have her here.  I will more than likely talk about her again throughout this class because of her strength, determination and resiliency.  The doctors are just amazed by her...they still occasionally perform CAT Scans and MRIs on her because of headaches, and they have told my parents that it is the most fascinating thing they have seen.  If you would look at her brain scans and see all of the damage that resulted from the accident, and then talk to her in person, there is no way that you would think that it was her brain that was scanned.  She was able to overcome a lot of challenges and regain many of the skills that were affected by the accident.  They cannot believe that other parts of her brain have compensated for so much.  Plasticity at its finest!