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Email Tammy
I was in a car accident on Saturday October 4th,1997. I was the driver of my 90 pontiac grand am and my car was hit on my door by a 85 ford pickup truck. No one involved were drunk or sighted as it was an accident. My female passenger in my car had a broken nose from my head hitting her face. The young boy driving the truck got a bloody nose, but he called for the paramedics on his cb. Probably saved my life. I got the worst of it. My parents had just left the port of Miami for their 25th anniversary cruise at 4:00 p.m my accident happened at 5:37p.m. the cruise boat would not let my parents off until they docked, didn't dock for 2 1/2 days later. My parents couldn't get to me until 4 days later. They were about half crazy and they tell me about the wild situation that was. My sister Chelly and brother-in-law Kim and my babysister Barb stayed at the hospital with me. My oldest sister Jenny flew in on Sunday and stayed with Chelly until my parents got to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. I was life-flighted first to the local hospital in Youngstown for my spleen was bleeding. Then they life-flighted me to Cleveland Metro trauma hospital because of the pelvic fracture was so severe. On flight my brain swelled from the trauma to it. The nuerosurgeons placed a monitor in my brain so they could use meds to keep swelling down. My other fractures had to wait 11 days to have surgery. I had cracked vertabraes and had to wear a jewett brace,and fracture pelvic in four places, and my brain bled in many spots all over my brain (like baby shake snydrome). I was on a ventalator, they did a trachea and placed a food peg in so I could get enough calories to heal everything. I weighed 120 pounds and just passed my physical for the airforce, all I had to do was graduate. I lost 40 pounds and only weighed 80 pounds when I came out of my coma. I was in a coma for 62 days and in the hospital a total of 105 days. My parents then took me home and took me for rehabilitation at the local tbi center only 16 miles from our house. At Vista I continue to have rehab to present day. My balance is still very poor and my muscles won't co-operate so I take dantrium and zanaflex as muscle relaxers and pain reliever. I take amantadine in the morning to wake up my brain, and I wear two dynasplints to bed to stretch my muscles so I can move my right arm and be able to walk on my left leg. I wore a brace in my left shoe until October 1998. I had second surgery on my pelvic to remove all the hardware (4 screws, a plate, and a washer) on August 7,1998. My parents and family have made my house into a living as independent house(with lots of assistanced devices) as possible. My church family and my best friend and step-father helped my father built a porch with a wheelchair ramp so I could come home. my ex boyfriend and parents lent me this computer to help with my speech and memory rehabilitation. Alot of my old friends say they can't bare to come around because I've changed and they can't bare to see me this! I don't need their pity I need their understanding. They have walked out of my life, it's their lost. I see a slower,steady, and more determined person on a mission for God! I graduated from high school with a 3.57 average in May 98. I will regain my muscles with rehabilitation and plan to attend college at Kent State. I HAVE CHANGED AND WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE AND HE HAS MANY MORE SPECIALS PLANS FOR ME TO DO!
PICTURES ARE -tammy1.jpg- BETH (MY BEST FRIEND) AND ME FOR FLAGLINE CAPTAINS - tammy2.jpg,tammy3.jpg, AND tammy6.jpg- ARE MY SENIOR PICTUES TAKEN RIGHT BEFORE ACCIDENT -tammy4.jpg- MICAH (MY FRIEND & TBI SURVIVOR) CATRINA (MY 6 YR OLD NEICE) AND MYSELF BEFORE THE PROM IN APRIL 1998 - tammy5.jpg- IS SANTA AND ME AT THE RONALD McDONALD WHERE I'M A RELIEF MANAGER WITH MY PARENTS TO REPAY ALL THE KINDNESS THEY GAVE MY PARENTS AND ME