I was in a car accident the summer going into my junior year of high school. I was with 4 friends.
We made the poor choice of throwing water bottles at other cars, which caused one car to chase us for 2 miles on back country roads.
The chase ended with us crashing into a tree and ditch. The man chasing us called 911 but then promptly left the scene.
I was dead when help arrived but they were able to resuscitate me.
I went through 24 hrs of surgery to place rods and screws in my back, repair a major bowel rupture, and place a stent to repair a collapsed femoral artery.
Several days after the accident (after stabilizing) I was informed my best friend had died in the accident and I sustained a spinal cord injury at T8 and L3.
I spent the next decade of my life going to physical therapy at the Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan.
Because I was a Michigan resident and the accident happened in Michigan I was covered by the state’s catastrophic auto coverage and have been lucky to have great care.
I’ve gone on to live a full life due to have excellent family care giving and top notch medical providers. None of which would have been possible for me without that auto coverage.
I am a PhD in counselor education, a business owner, a wife, and a parent to two beautiful children. All things I dreamed of before my accident but wasn’t sure it would happen after.
