On August 21, 1995 I got the phone call that all parents fear. Our 16-year-old daughter had been in a wreck coming out of her high school onto a busy highway. As we rushed to the wreck we thought it was just a fender bender little did we know that I would not be returning home for 3 weeks. As we approached the scene we say a lot of rescue trucks. I will never forget the feeling I had when I saw her car. The top had been torn off by Jaws of Life to get her out. We were told by the rescue workers to go to Baptist Hospital immediately. We prayed all the way there not knowing if she would be alive when we reached her. At the hospital we were told to wait. A few minutes late the social worker came out and said they wanted us to go to a small waiting room. Being a minister and minister's wife we knew that meant it was bad news. I was convinced that she was dead. At this point many of our friends began to arrive. The social worker came in and said Melissa is in X ray the doctor will be in soon. Those werown eyes and hearing the nurse say she was following with them was something that you cannot put into words. Our journey with brain injury was just beginning. After 4 weeks in the hospital we transferred to rehabilitation hospital. Most of the last two weeks in the hospital were spent teaching Melissa how to set up, roll over, eat and beginning to walk. Watching your 16 year old daughter become a baby again was so hard but on the other had we were so grateful that she could learn again. We did not realize until she had been at rehab for about a week that she remembered nothing about her stay in regular hospital and that even thought she was communicating with us and making perfect sense in he responses she had no memory. Her first memories after the wreck are of waking up a t the rehab hospital. Rehab was three weeks in hospital and 4 months of out patient. Seeing her struggle to tie her shoe, put on her clothes, draw a simple picture, write her name, etc. was again very hard on me. Some day I would Another place we had to fight to get what Melissa needed was at school. We had to be creative in order to get the number of credits she needed. We used a home bound teacher, a correspondence course through a college, and she attended two high schools as well as therapy. This was all hard to schedule but knowing she was getting better and seeing the results was worth all we had to do. One of the hardest things I had too face once she got better was her wanting to drive again. In fact the state of North Carolina said she did not have to take the written test again but we had her for our piece of mind. Her accident was in August and she drove again in March. This was amazing considering the fact that she was no supposed to live let alone be well enough to drive. I had a lot of feelings while dealing with a child who had a brain injury. It takes a lot of patience both with the child and with the system. I was scared a lot of the times because everything was new and I did not understand a lot of what thef she had any problems they could call us. The first time she went in to see Melissa she would not get to close to the bed or say anything, but each time she went in she would get a little closer and began to talk to her. After Melissa came to and was moved to a regular room Megan wanted to see her more and soon they were arguing like sisters. The first time Megan went in Melissa's room after the accident she just sat of Melissa's bed and cried. As Melissa began to recover and was getting a lot of attention Megan began to do a few things to get attention some of this was normal for a 12 year old but some was caused by the amount of attention Melissa was getting. As Melissa began to recover and was getting lots of attention, Megan began to do things to get attention. Some of these things were normal for a 12-year-old but some were caused by the amount of attention Melissa was getting. One thing that parents of children with serious injuries need to remember is that the other family members sometimes sufke life for granted anymore. Our second child now has gotten her driver's license and it is sometimes hard for me to let her go in the car. But I do think she is a safer driver and more aware of what could happen because of what we went through. Being the parent of a TBI child has made me more aware of others going through similar things and I try to help them in any way I can, whether it means going to the hospital, sitting in the waiting room with them, telling them about the resources we found to help us, or just listening to them talk and cry. This ministry has helped me deal with a lot of emotions that I have had. It is very important to remember that you are not the only one who has faced TBI.
