Julie Brewington

Friday, July 12, 2013

Meredith's Journey

Twelve weeks ago, the unthinkable happened. My daughter got off the school bus, like she's done every other school day, in front of our house for the last 8 years. Only on this day in April, she got struck by a car as she walked the few feet from the school bus to our yard. I was home at the time, fortunately, and rushed out to the road in front of my house where my baby lay on the side of the road.The universal fear of all mothers, was indeed my reality. There lay my child on the side of the road. I ran toward her in an absolute panic.

"I'm sorry mommy." she says. You're sorry? Oh dear Lord. Had I not been in full emergency mode, I would have broken down on the side of the road, in tears, right there. Not only is she telling me she's sorry she is hurt, but that I could not have stopped it.

The woman who hit her had stopped. She had not called 911, instead she sent Meredith's twin sister running into the house to get me.

My instinct at that moment was to get my child off the road. I ran to get my car and I scooped her up and laid her in the back seat. I knew by talking to her and looking at her, that her injuries were confined to her leg. She was wearing jeans, so I couldn't see exactly the extent of her injuries, but I knew I had to get her to the ER. I called 911 on the way. The local sheriff's deputy was to meet me at the hospital.

As I got to the hospital, I pulled up to the ER, assuring my daughter she would be OK. She trusted me, so I had to be right. I grabbed a wheelchair and rushed her inside. At the receptionist's desk I told them she was hit by a car. They immediately rushed her back and were very prompt to attend to her. Indeed it was only her leg, but it had been broken badly in three places. The local hospital, tried to set her leg, but after one attempt, the referred her to Johns Hopkins for surgery.

We arrived at Johns Hopkins Children's Emergency Center by ambulance around 11pm. I followed them up. I was advised they are going to try a reduction again (setting of the bones) but if they did not get it perfect she would be crippled, so then they would need to do surgery. Finally, shortly after 3am they told me they were successful at setting her bones and casted her from hip to toe. We left with crutches and no sleep for the 3 hour journey home at 6am. I was grateful for access to such medical talent.

Meredith spent the remainder of the school year in a wheel chair. We have taken a half a dozen trips to
Johns Hopkins since April. Today, she got her cast off! She now has a removable boot, for another month, so she can actually take showers, and swim, and paint her toe nails. She'll have another check up in August.

Special thanks to the Lord and Savior for looking out for my daughter and having access to the best doctor's in the entire world, especially Dr. Michael Ain.