Miracle or Luck? You Be the Judge

• I survived a terrible accident

• My husband was there to comfort me.

• The first person on the scene was a nurse from my church.

• The ambulance arrived within moments of the call (we heard the sirens as soon as the 911 dispatcher said they had called for an ambulance).

• One of the responding paramedics is the most experienced and respected paramedic in Central Illinois.

• That same paramedic was one of the ones who transported me out of the hospital and to the nursing home. I got to thank him. It was his birthday.

• I had a 16mm tear in my aorta and didn't bleed out.

• I survived a surgery that has less than a 10% survival rate. 

• I got the best cardiac and orthopedic trauma surgeons in the area, and didn't get to choose any of them.

• I have no brain damage whatsoever.

• I wore all of my motorcycle gear because the weather in August was cool.

• I got to attend my son's Senior Night for Fall Sports - even though I later had to have the fixator put back on.

• I can walk. In fact, I walked the very day they removed my fixator for good.

• My family is totally amazing!

• My community and friends came together to support my family in ways we will never be able to repay.

• There were close to 30 people in the ER waiting room to support my family.

• I never had to worry about my job.

• We received almost the exact amount of money we needed to get through this adventure so far. 

• I was able to stay in a nursing home that was just down the street from my house.  My family, and dogs, could visit whenever they wanted.

• I was home and strong enough to see my son graduate from High School and my daughter graduate from 8th grade.

• To this day, I meet people I never knew before who have been praying for me all this time.

• I never felt like I was going to die.

These are the things I can remember.  It doesn't include all of the amazing support I got from nurses and therapists that helped to make all of this possible. If you know of something I missed, please add it.  I'd like to remember as much as possible.