A story of survival

This story does not have the recovery/ tow truck theme that the rest of my web site dos, but it does involve a tow truck and it is a cool story-
The story has been copied from the original article.
This is from: the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.
The link is:
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/052905/news_0529new002001.shtml

Reason to celebrate Car crash victim heals, graduates from high school
By LAYTON EHMKE Peninsula Clarion

Nicole Harmon received her diploma from Kenai Alternative School earlier this month. She returned to school after a serious car accident that occurred in 2003.
Photo by M. Scott Moon

Graduation speeches are typically saturated with comments about new beginnings and transitional phases. For one 2005 graduate, the notion of starting over couldn't be more true.
Two days before Christmas 2003, Nicole Harmon was broadsided by a tow truck after she lost control of her car on the ice-covered Kenai Spur Highway. It was an accident that nearly killed her. She suffered traumatic brain damage and for all intents and purposes, life as she knew it was over.
Nicole's father, Phil Harmon, recalled the day of the accident.
"It was scary. They revived her three different times and were telling her that she was not done living her life. Her little body was pretty well broken," he said.
A priest had already given her last rights. Few expected her to survive.
She suffered fractures in her pelvis, left knee and neck. Marylou Harmon said her granddaughter's face was torn from mouth to ear. For the next 40 days she lay in a coma while Marylou and Phil held steadfast alongside, waiting and praying. Members of the Kenaitze tribe drummed and sang for her. Prayer chains circulated the news about her. Marylou said that all made the difference.

Investigators work at the scene of Harmon's accident in December 2003.
Clarion file photo by M. Scott M

"I saw my mother as an angel — she was holding me and telling me it wasn't time yet," Nicole said of her time in the hospital. "It was freaky."
Then it happened — the arduous test of how people deal with the cards they are dealt: Nicole awoke. It happened slowly at first. She was cognizant long enough to say "Hi."
"We all jumped up and ran in her room. It was fantastic," Marylou said.
Still, doctors had grim forecasts of her recovery and rehabilitation. They obviously didn't know much about Nicole.
"Coming out of the coma, she was tough. There are three stages of coma recovery — swearing, fighting and spitting," Marylou said. "The doctors were scared of her."
"She had this blood-curdling scream because it hurt when nurses touched her. Her whole body was sore — it's not like you heal in two days," Phil said.
It's possible she was frustrated. It's possible she was scared or confused. Nobody really knows. What is evident, however, is that somewhere in her mind, she found a force of fortitude.
"You have to have the will to keep going," she said.
Four months of hospitalization passed and her condition steadily improved — with limitations.
Nicole has no memory of the accident. In fact, the traumatic brain injury eliminated her short-term memory for some time. Through therapy and her own fortitude, it is gradually returning as she makes her recovery.
"It has taken a lot of love to get to where we are today. None of the doctors expected her to heal as well as she has," Marylou said. "When we brought her home, she could not read, write, do math, art, or even feed herself and speak. It was like raising a baby — everything was a lot of work. We had to go all the way back to the beginning — she needed constant care. She couldn't remember what she had done two minutes before."
Nicole marched on and by August 2004 she enrolled in Kenai Alternative High, a place Marylou felt Nicole would be treated with more respect in her challenging situation.
"The kids have been good to her and the teachers helped her and gave her hints about things every day. They had never worked with a student with traumatic brain injury before," Marylou said. "She's progressing more than anyone expected. Her short-term memory is coming back."
Every day was a new program at school because of her memory loss. Teachers at the school were faced with the challenge and gave Nicole their patience.
"Sometimes I needed just a little hint to get it," Nicole said. "I love to learn and the kids have been good to me."
That good feeling is reciprocated.
Kenai Alternative High School Principal Gregg Wilbanks noted how motivating Nicole has been to teachers and classmates alike.
"Her outlook is refreshing. To be going through total reconstruction and to be smiling, all the time uplifting," Wilbanks said. "I remember there was a cold and rainy day this year, just ugly outside. I was talking about how ugly it was and she said, 'No, this is a great day.' She puts things into perspective.
"A lot of students here have seen some real challenges. When they see how Nicole never breaks down, it makes their situations seem very doable."
Her situation is getting better each day. Nicole is a perpetual optimist. The family makes a point to laugh, as they believe it has much to do with accelerating the healing process.
"Laughing is a stimulant for the body and the brain. It takes a lot of good, loving hugs, too," Marylou said. "We laugh at it all."
Nicole agreed.
"It's not too hard to laugh."
She graduated May 19 and received a multitude of wild cheers from the audience as she accepted her diploma. Marylou was crying between snapping photos. Phil was beaming.
"This is beautiful — all the family and friends here. It makes me proud," he said.