Update November 8, 2005

I just wanted to add a quick update to Whitney. I guess the biggest couple of events have been hearing the neurologist say there is nothing more he can do and if we like can come back in a year. She just passed the second set of test for her next level back belt and finally and the most difficult for me as a parent is that she is driving and I purchase a new car her over the summer. The only minor issues is balance which is constantly improving an her voice. Her right vocal cord was paralized, they say this is the only sign of the brain stem injury and it is constantly getting better. She can speak fine she just does not like the sound of her voice, deeper than prior to the accident. If anyone knows any speach exercises and would like to share that would be great. She has been out of all therapies since Feb. when they said she did not need them anymore.

Update December 21,2004

Whitney has been doing amazing and will be starting college in January. She finally woke up in April of this year contrary to the predictions of the medical community who believed she would spend the rest of her life in the convalescent home. We are coming up for the one year anniversary, January 1st, and are not mourning the death but life of a special miracle who has fully recovered mentally and regualarly attending physical therapies and Tae Kwon Do. I will keep you posted as to when she will be on Good Morning Armerica with Diane Sawyer. that you for your well wishes and have a safe New Year.

As I had mentioned in my previous note on New Year's eve Whitney was a passenger in a car when for some reason the driver, her friend, decided to skip 2 lanes and turn left on a red light. No drug or drinking involved. It took 45 minutes with the jaws of life to get her out and she had to be revived at the scene. She suffered a severe T-bone TBI, shattered pelvis, broken leg, broken ribs, collapsed lung and internal bleeding. She was given a 10-20% chance of survival and a Glasgow 3. If you know what that means, major permanent brain damage. Anyway I never listened to the doctors from day one. No dark room, allowed friends the first day, no negative talk in front of her and the only person allowed to cry in the room was me.

It took 20 days until they said she was not going to die. I never made funeral arrangements and refused grievance counselling saying I would know when I needed to do what. Day 21 they did surgery for her pelvis. Because the car came 21 inches into her the right hip hit the left forcing it back 40%. They inserted a metal plate to support the back and 4 8 inch long metal pegs held into place with a metal fixator. She remained in the coma until April. By this point the medical community had given up on her and place her in a convalescent home. I spent 12 hours a day every day with her.When she was just coming out of the coma she remembered everything, even that on arrival at Scripps she was a Jane Doe with a birth year of 1980. She is only 18 but it took me 2 days to convince her she had not been in the coma for 5 years. During this 2 day period she remember everyone one who had come to visit her, although she remembers nothing now. I am glad that day 3 I started a memory book that everyone signed and wrote in when they came to visit, never a day without a visitor.

All this being said. Her CAT scans are awful and her MRI's show brain stem damage and extensive sheering on every lobe of her brain. She was refused rehab. initially saying because of the films she would never recover or be able to walk or interact with people. I have made enemies of a lot of Doctors but the gift I have received in return is unbelievable. There has never been a documented case of a T-bone TBI ever recovering beyond 50-60% and that is only in 1% of the cases. Although all her films are horrible she is now home. I can see no change in her at all except she has a lot of rehab ahead of her. They have done neuro testing and they don't understand it. The head Neurologist at UCSD who designs the plans for dealing with TBI's is doing a case study on her to be published to change how Dr.'s deal with patients because they think because I never gave up on her she never gave up on herself. The films they have given up trying to explain. All I know is Whitney is functional and now gaining more and more independence everyday.

My motto from day one is that doctors know the medicine but only a mother truely knows her child. I believe that Whitney will recover 100% and tonight is actually out at a movie with friends and it is just 9 months later. Pritty amazing for someone who was never going to walk, talk, interact with be and be partially vegative at best.

Keep the faith. If you are reading this the worst thing that could happen to you already has. Dig in for the hard work ahead and love life.

Original Post

On January 1st 2004 my 18 year old daughter was a passenger in a car that was hit on the passenger side by a bronco. There was no drugs or drinking involved in this accident just very bad judgement on the part of her friend. At the last minute she decided that instead of driving through the green light going straight she would jump 2 lanes and turn left on a red light. No one was hurt except Whitney who has been in a coma ever since. She suffered a T-bone TBI, a shattered pelvis, broken ribs, resessitated on the scene and a broken leg. The phone call was a mothers worst nightmare but seeing her for the first time on January 1st was devistating. She has since been taken of her resperator, had her ICP monitor removed, had surgery to rebuild her pelvis and physically recovered except for broken bones. It is very difficult to understand how a coma works when her eyes are open and you can see her level of frustration at being where she is. Her friends still come in! and I always have them sign her memory book, started day 3, so when she wakes up she can see who came to visit and what happened with the missing time.

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