Hi my name is Claudia and I am my daughters caregiver.Marias accident was 5/5/85/ It's almost 17years now.Maria was only 15 at the time of the accident.She was out with friends when the accident occured.She went through the windshield, lacerated her liver and was thrown 80 feet into the air.She has a severe closed-head injury.No broken teeth nor a broken bone in her body.Upon arrival at the hospital Maria was unrecognizeable.Her face was almost faceless and her head was twice its size.I almost refused to say it was my daughter.Like everyone elses stories, she had tubes all over her .Machines were doing everything for her.Pressure was building up so a ICP monitor was also placed.She was unresponsive for almost two months.During that time a shunt was placed,a trach was placedand also a feeding tube.She started some slow movement on one side of her body but still nothing purposeful. I too, in the beginning was given the option of unplugging Maria but I refused and left it in Gods hands.Many Drs. said that if Maria survived the first 72hrs.she would only be vegetable the rest of her life.I said do all you can to save her.We thstayed at the hospital for 8months.We were then transfered to a rehab in Boston,which I think did more harm than good,I stayed with her so I could lean how to do all the range of motions and how to transfer her.Still no improvement so I spoke with the Drs. and said if Maria is medically stable I wanted to bring her home.We set up all the therapists and nurses for home care.Maria seems very happy in her own surroundins.She still doesn't walk ,talk is legally blind(just found out last year about her eyesight)and also has a feeding tube.She is more like a three year old.She responds to sesame street,and barney and oldies.She is alot of work and needs constant attention 24/7 I do have a big family and all their support.I thank God everyday for Maria .Maria has suffered in the past with severe grand-mals seizures and many times I thought I was going to lose her.I pray many times a day for strength and hope to keep strong.I thank my many friends that I have found on line for sharing stories and information with me. This site has helped me tremendously. Thank you Claudia Ramundo