12/30/2011
Here is one (just a tease) from my shoot w/ my friends Val. Been waiting a long time to shoot her and Monday it finally happened.
The hair was a pleasant surprise
:-)
This is Val's story. It is moving and I am so glad she is sharing it w/ us.
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Mid December 2009, I had a horrific, near-fatal car accident that left me in a coma for 40 days in the intensive care unit of one of the major Hospital in Atlanta.
During my coma, I developed ICU Psychosis, not uncommon for an ICU patient, which lasted 2 and half days. It is a state of delirium. I cried for 5 hours one day, confused and scared about where I was. I had a lot of visitors at that time and I'm honored that so many people came to see me.
When I woke up from the coma, I couldn't speak or walk, and I had no use of the left side of my body. Especially, when I smiled, I could only smile with the right side of my face. Kind of joker-esque. Lol.
I had countless infections and had to go into surgery to drain the fluid out of my head and to have a feeding tube put in. When I sat up by myself for the first time, I slept for the rest of the day, because it took a lot out of me. I spoke for the first time a couple days before I was to be relocated, after about 2 months of silence. It’s weird, I don't remember being frustrated that I couldn't talk. I guess I “spoke” mainly with my mannerisms and facial expressions, although I didn't have much control of that. I was moved to the Shepherd Center, known as the best trauma center in America, as an in-patient for about 2 months. During that time, I was in a wheel chair and cried in frustration while trying to put on my socks. I couldn't dress, bathe or feed myself. I cried with glee when I took my first couple steps in physical therapy. Near the end of my stay I started using a walker.
After that, I was at Shepherd Pathways for more intense rehabilitation as an out-patient. During that time I was living in an apartment with my mother and going to rehabilitation 5 days a week for about 6 hours a day. Kind of like school. There I was trained to use the cognitive abilities of my brain again, fine motor skills and coordination (using both hands together). I also worked on my balance quite a bit and it wasn't long until I got rid of the walker and I was able to balance and walk without assistance. I graduated from Shepherd Pathways a couple weeks ago and now I'm on my own to get myself where I used to be.
It'll be 6 months since my accident. That's the time frame that the doctors say I will see the most improvement. Doctors also say that because of my physical fitness background, It’s speeding my recovery quite a bit. Ultimately, they say that it takes 2 years for the brain to heal from a Traumatic Brain Injury. I'm waiting for that day to come. Like a child, I'm learning everything all over again. I would hope I'm better than before.
This young lady attended our MBISGroup until mid 2011, when she moved on to another state where she leaves independently and is active in the art and fashion world.