My daughter, Ashley, was in an accident. I asked first thing, "is she okay?" knowing I meant, how serious is it? The nurse answered that the accident itself was a miracle, but needed my verbal consent for her to go in for X-rays. Permission granted. And I'm on my way. Give me 45 minutes.
The timing of the call was good in one way...I didn't have to leave earlier than my usual quitting time of 4 pm. It was exactly 4 pm when I hung up the phone and informed my co-workers that I had to go. And to inform my supervisor. I will contact them later when I can.
Arrived at the ER in town. Ashley was complaining about the neck brace, and how uncomfortable the backboard was, and she was really all tied up with buckles and restraints (to keep from rolling off).
The nurse recognized me, and this is what happened:
Ashley and her friend Anna were biking near the community recreational center. It is sort of in a hillside, but on the river, and it's a gorgeous park too. Apparently from what I understand, Ashley did not pay attention and a van clipped her from behind, causing her and the bike to go up in the air. The back of Ashley's head broke the van's windshield (created a hole too). The driver ( an older man, of a "grandpa age") and his wife were shaken up. They were not hurt. Ashley had smashed their windshield pretty good. Anna went back over to hold her until the police and EMS were called.
I have heard from the nurse and the EMS commenting over and over again how LUCKY she was to be alive from that type of impact. People, the van suffered worse than my own daughter. My daughter would either have serious closed head injury, broken bones, etc., and the van would have gotten away with it. But no, the van suffered worse.
We were transferred to U-M Hospital's ER (Pediatrics ER) and we spent more than 20 hours there. All people there have said how lucky she was. And some even called her a miracle. I have watched their faces as I'd described the accident, and many times repeating, yes riding her bike and no she didn't wear her helmet...and yes she has one.
Ashley suffered a concussion, a big bump on the back of her head with some bleeding underneath the skin. She has a sprained ankle. Many scrapes, bruises and bumps. She is alert when we wake her up. She does have bad headaches, which is typical of a concussion. But she hasn't had major problems with memory. No closed head injury, praise the Lord!
Finally when Ashley was able to keep her stomach settled and get around ok, we were able to go home. Of course I had to wait for my husband to come up and get us. At the same time, Ashley's father, uncle and grandma came by to visit. Of course they were shaken up when they saw Rachel's blanket.
God protected you, Ashley. I know Rachel was with you too. You carried your sister's blanket around in your carry bag. This blanket was made with loads of love from Ellen and her daycare children and it had everyone's handprints painted on it. This was given to Rachel when she was diagnosed with cancer and gave her the comfort of many of her friends who made this.
Ashley, I know Rachel had been your angel over this whole ordeal. When you were slipping in and out of consciousness, you were very vocal about keeping the blanket with you at all times. The nurses, doctors and EMS respected that. I tried to move it from you, you clutched it. You told everyone who listened what the blanket meant to you.
You are my miracle, Ashley. God blessed me the day you were born, and continues to bless me as I watch you grow into a beautiful young woman. God blessed you with giving you an opportunity to show your maturity by having a babysitting job this summer. God had blessed you for not having more than just a few bumps, bruises and scrapes, to match the bump on your head.
I love you, Ashley. You're a tough cookie like your mother.
The next step in this road to recovery---to contact the police for the report, and hopefully I can contact the couple who hit her and assure them Ashley is okay. And offer to pay for any damages their insurance may not cover. And to continue to seek God's guidance in this road to recovery.
I also want to take a moment to say thank you all for your love and support, your prayers and thoughts. It was truly felt, and not only it affected us, but the people who worked with Ashley. Instead of saying "lucky", I say, no, "blessed".
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1 comment:
We truly worship an almighty God and this is without a doubt an example of a "God Thing"!
I remain full of praise that Ashley is ok after such an awful experience and that she felt the touch of her older sister, that she never met, watch over her as her guardian angel.
You are very precious Ashley and I praise the Lord you are ok! now... never do that again! :)
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