Credit where credit is due

There were three vehicles involved in Sandra's accident: 

• car 1 (Chevrolet Silverado) that struck Sandra,
• car 2 (Honda Civic) that car 1 struck BEFORE crossing the median of I-75, and 
• car 3, Sandra's (Hyundai Santa Fe).

Driver of car 1 was charged with Reckless Driving. Nowhere in any report by authorities or insurance does it mention the driver being incapacitated in any way, i.e. the driver was not suffering a stroke nor was that driver unconscious. 

Driver 1 was reckless.

Driver 1's vehicle had been reported for reckless driving via a 911 call in Ocala within an hour of losing control North of Gainesville and hitting Sandra. 

It seems odd to be charged with Reckless Driving if you're unconscious?  And if you've suffered a stroke, should you really be driving a vehicle so soon afterwards?

Florida Highway Patrol statement:
 

Next stop: HOME

Sandra is being discharged from Shands Rehab on Monday, Dec 31. Until she has the ability to weight-bear on at least one foot, she cannot progress any further in the rehab process at the facility. She'll have home therapy instead. 

All the wounds/surgery sites are healing up nicely, and Sandra has a lot more mobility in her upper body now that her ribs and clavicle are healing. We are going to try to postpone the surgery on the broken bone in her right wrist until she gets more flexibility in her left arm/hand. Hopefully the surgeon will give the okay on waiting; having all four limbs disabled would be way worse than three...

Sandra's grateful for all the visits, calls, cards, flowers, food (mmmm, noir chocolate!) that everyone has brought or sent. Her cellphone is operational now, so you can reach her on that number vs. the rehab facility directly.

P.S.

Her toes still look marvelous. 

Monday there was crafty activity in the lunchroom, and of course, Sandra was all for it. Behold!

 "It's come to this." - Sandra, recuperating 

Progress

She is feeling great today!


Today Sandra was in the wheelchair and out of the bed for almost ten (10) hours. They took her out to the patio outside (OUTSIDE!) in the under-the-oak-tree canopy patio, where she read, and enjoyed the birds/squirrel sounds, just anything besides being inside a room, for three hours. 

Her aide brought her lunch of mashed potatoes and fresh green beans and she dined al fresco. 

She's going to the orthopedic clinic on Wednesday afternoon to get a diagnosis on her right wrist/hand. I told her I wanted to see her x-rays, ALL of them, she started singing 'I want x-rays! I want x-rays!' to the tune of 'I want candy!' :)  She stopped herself and said, "I sang! Its the first time in ... a while."  /tear

She also partially dressed herself, with the help of a 'grabber' tool, except.....she put the pants on backwards. Still, THEY WERE ON!

Full immobility =/

So the x-rays of Sandra's right hand/wrist show broken bones in her hand. She's back to full immobility, cannot weight-bear on ANY limb, now, maybe elbows only I think. Tomorrow we should know more.

Pants!

Sandra's got clothes again, no more gowns! Here she is just before going to get an x-ray on her right wrist. She has some pain when she uses it at some angles.

 

Rehab

Sandra's in the Shands Rehab Hospital on 39th Ave. as of 1pm Thursday. Also, she is off the IV drip altogether, so no more anticipating blood transfusions or IV pain relievers. 

352-265-5491 x 70177

Before/after pics, the valiant Santa Fe

Finally got up the nerve to post these. I'm linking to them in case you don't want to look. :(  The truck that hit Sandra is partially visible in the 'front' picture, its black in color.

Click:
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Sandra got her name back yesterday: now if you call Shands, you can ask for her by name vs. the trauma tahiti name. 

Today she was actually standing up. The physical therapists were here with a customized walker with an elbow cradle on the left side for support, they stood her up and fitted the walker cradle height. More baby steps...in the right direction.

Injury Update

Injury update: only five ribs broken, all on right side. Only.

Wrist splint installed

Sandra got a splint for her wrist and thumb this morning, so she can start bearing weight on her left arm (at the elbow). Prior to the splint, she just had a LOT of bandages on the wrist/arm/thumb area. 

The splint also keeps the injured thumb immobilized.

Third Surgery Successful!

Surgery successful. Sandra's back in her room, groggy but recovering. Yay!

Had someone come out today to take measurements for a ramp with a handrail for the front door. Work should start around December 29. We're going to tell Sandra it is going to disintegrate in 6 months, so she has to work extra hard at rehab!

One More

Sandra's scheduled for another surgery, this one to repair the broken clavicle with a stabilizing plate. Hopefully this will allow the collarbone to become stable more rapidly to better aid her rehab. 

Surgery scheduled for 'first thing' Monday morning. 

Trauma Tahiti is Sandra's patient name at the hospital. She's at Shands if you want to visit, ask for her by the hospital name because they won't have her listed under her real name. This naming procedure is for privacy reasons. Shands 352/265-0111.

Sandra left work early on 12/12/12, a very rare event, even more rare, her destination was the Oaks Mall...at Christmastime. She hates shopping, and crowds, and how commercial Christmas has become. All reasons not to be on I-75 Southbound on Wednesday afternoon.

She was struck almost head-on by a  pickup truck about 4.33pm. The vehicle left the Northbound lanes of I-75, crossed the median and all 3 lanes of SB I-75 and continued onto the grass on the West side of the interstate. The truck then re-entered I-75 but now heading North in the Southbound lanes, where it crashed into Sandra's Hyundai Santa Fe suv.

I will be eternally grateful she wasn't driving the car she had prior to the Hyundai, a Honda Civic. The SUV saved her life. The truck that hit her was a Chevy Silverado, 4x4, Crew Cab full-sized truck, weighing approximately 5600 lbs. The Hyundai weighs only 3600 lbs, one ton less, but it stopped the impact of the truck successfully, amazing when you look at the vehicles.

Sandra incredibly sustained only (only) broken bones and bruises, but no internal injuries and no spinal/neck injuries (that are detected to date, 12/15/12).  Thank you Hyundai safety engineers!

• Compound fracture of  left femur and left wrist
• broken left collarbone
• fractured/shattered right kneecap
• torn ligaments in left wrist (thumb retractor) as well as the right kneecap
• fractured bone in her right ankle
• six broken ribs - at last count, not confirmed

She underwent two separate surgeries to fix the compound fractures and torn ligaments, and came through both surgeries well. No surgery on collarbone, ribs or ankle.

Her right arm is in good shape. She can: use the phone, put on her glasses, lift a light cup of water, etc. but that is about it, restricted mobility. No motorcross or roller derby anytime soon ;)

She is in very good spirits, despite being flat on her back 24 hours a day. She's on painkillers (obviously) which make her tired, but can hold conversations, and was watching some tv the last 2 days. She is off her IV as of Saturday night, so she's progressing very well.

Prognosis is good, she's in the hospital for another few days, then transitioning to a rehab facility for a few weeks and then going home. Weight bearing and/or walking is hopeful in about 6-8 weeks.