Dreamer

August 27

Saturday, 8-27-11. I woke up, and it was starting to storm. The hurricane was coming tonight, and storms excite me. Immediately I went to the front door and stared up at the sky, watching the black clouds rush into view. What did the water look like? I had to know. I begged my dad to take me to the beach 15 minutes down the road, I really wanted to see how the storm affected our tiny river known as Gloucester point beach. We got there, and mom tagged along, and there were waves! With white-caps! That never happens. The storm was already rolling in, although it was expected for another 8-10 hours. We left and went to the marina, but all we saw were boats swaying. So on the way back home, I asked to go to the boat landing, about 5 minutes from home. The view was similar to the beach- white caps on the waves, but we could tell the wind was picking up. So we got back in our van and headed down the windy road. My best friend megans boy friend lives down this road, and I pointed out his house right as we went down a turn. That was my last memory from that day. The second I pointed, the second my world went black. A huge tree fell on top of our van. I wad immediately knocked unconscious, and stopped breathing completely. If there were no power line to slow the tree, I would be cut in half. I was sitting in the middle seat, and the van had completely crumbled and I was literally folded in half, on my long hair, arms and legs showed, but my upper body layer compacted over my legs. My dad was the first to move. He shook my mom to wake her up, though she lay confused. He shouted that I wasn’t breathing and he HAD to get me out. She shouted not to move because the power lines would electrocute him and to wait for help. He replied it won’t matter because I’m not breathing, and he had to move me to open my airway or there would be no chance at all. As he climbed through the window my mom reached for my limp wrist, and there was no pulse. She struggle to reach my neck- no pulse. Immediately she started praying. Some arm reached through the window and unbuckled my seat belt. I was inched forward and my head was tilted back. My tongue rolled out and I gurgled, right as the ambulance and rescue arrived. I was maneuvered around the tree and pulled right out. My mom was scared my back had been broken, but due to no oxygen I had to be moved. I was rushed to the hospital, and then in response sped away to MCV for immediate brain surgery to give me any chance to save my life. My skull was fractured, I had two hematomas inside my skull, and just on the ride to the hospital an EXTRA 500 cc of blood had built up inside my head- this was beyond crucial, and only my family believed I would pull through. Because they never stopped praying. I also had a blood clot form in my brain, and my head was swelling up so rapidly that everything had to move as fast as possible because my life clock was running out. Due to the storm bridges were closed, so nurses had to call to open them- no helicopter could fly in that weather. My parents rode in another car behind the ambulance, and my sister 5 hours away raced to see me, in the storm. Just driving to MCV was risky for everyone- in VA trees are everywhere, and the wind was nightmarish. As we arrived to the hospital the doctors began telling my parents what they could, asked if I was an organ donor and told them they had to shave my head for this surgery. It was all a shock and happening so fast- but, my parents just said do what you need to do. Based on my first MRI, I had total brain damage. My parents were prepared to not be remembered, and that if I made it through the surgery, was IF, that I’d have to learn everything all over again, everything. That I’d be in the ICU for at least, ATLEAST 6 weeks. I made it through.