Courage and commitment -- Tara's Story
Tara is a boot camper who has been inspirational to all the other women in this camp. The other women didn't realize Tara had a prosthetic leg until she shared the following story with them. As you'll see, Tara and her daughter Meritt are truly exceptional! Grab a tissue, and read on...
It's ironic, but it was 2 yrs ago on April 28th, the day we started camp. That's liberating for me! My daughter and I were coming home from the grocery store in Cleburne on Hwy 171 and were hit head on, in our lane, by a drunk driver. I don't remember a single thing about the accident other than yelling for Meritt. Meritt, on the other hand, can recall details about the man's car, that it caught on fire and who got her out of the car. She even remembers word for word what I said and the conversations she had with my husband when he got to the scene. Kids are so amazing!! It was raining very hard so we could not be air lifted. I hear it took them 1 hour to cut me out of the car. My right femur was pushed out the back of my leg and my ankle was hanging by a thread. Those two injuries and a few air bag burns on my arms and chin were all I had.
Meritt was in the middle of the back seat. The impact (we were both going 60 mph) made her body bend all the way over to the floor board and then she sat up. This caused her spinal cord to stretch around the T9 and T10 area. Those vertebrae were crunched as well. She now has a floating rod in her spine that will allow her to grow. BUT, thankfully her spinal cord was not severed. The doctor's are real hesitant to give their real opinion because they really can't say if she'll ever gain full function. She was at Cook Children's and I was at Harris Hospital Ft Worth for 28 days. I think the hardest thing about this whole experience was not being able to go comfort her. They would not even let me off the floor I was on. I finally ventured out of the hospital to her room the day we were leaving. Man, was that hard!
Our families were amazing and Meritt got to visit me often and she'd bring me green apple icees. I had 5 surgeries in those 28 days to repair my leg. The first surgery to repair my femur was done wrong and the titanium rod was not stable. I'll never forget the feeling of trying to stand for the first time and feeling like my leg was shattering all over again. So, the next few days I was having another surgery to put in a new rod the CORRECT way. The day after, I stood and felt like a new person.
On the 20th day in the hospital, my ankle was getting infected and the doctor gave me the option of amputating the right ankle or removing tissue and muscle from my left leg and trying to heal the ankle. He also threw in there that there was no guarantee and that in a year it was possible that I'd have to have it removed anyways. Plus, he said I'd be off my feet for several more months. That comment sold me. There was no way I could be sitting at home when I had to care for my 6 year old daughter who was paralyzed from the waist down.
I was fit with a prosthetic leg and by the end of June was walking around fine. It wasn't as hard as I thought trying to walk with this new device. I just decided to get up and get going. I had that first leg for the first year before I got this one that has a little more flexibility. Some day, I hope to have the cool one that looks like a hook. My prosthetist says that one is best for running and exercise.
Meritt's recovery was very slow starting out. She couldn't even sit up by herself when we got home. We were told that until she could move her legs there was really no PT she could do. I wasn't very satisfied with that so we started doing things to improve her core strength at home like sit ups and throwing a ball without falling over. We purchased a functional electrostimulus bike for here at home to help keep her muscles in shape. She has to ride for an hour 3 days a week. The bike sends impulse to her legs and the muscles really flex. It is the coolest thing I've seen. We started working on push ups, which she can now do unassisted. Then I started making her try to lift one leg while in the push up position. She can do that. Then we started trying to pull one forward and she conquered that!! We were thrilled. She can now feel just at the top of her leg which is about 4 or 5 inches from where she was just out of the hospital. So, I knew she was improving and we needed someone else to step in and help.
Searching all around, we found Project Walk in California. They got her in that next month and we took off. We spent a week there this past Feburary. They jumped in trying all new things with her and even got her up on a machine that allowed her to walk. Meritt worked for 2 hours everyday we were there and we got lots of great input. She's on the home program now so I do her workouts after school here at home. She can crawl with assistance and squeeze her legs in and out a little using her hip flexion. This is great improvement so far. We just keep working hard everyday.
It's been a wild ride. I think the thing that has helped me is just not sitting around feeling sorry for myself but getting up and moving from the start. And knowing that Meritt relies on me helps me stay on my feet. She never has complained about being in a wheelchair and only says what are we doing today to help me get out of it. So, we've decided how could we have a bad day when she is so positive. We don't ever know the cards we are going to be dealt, but it's always best to make the most of it because April 28th could've turned out completely different and we could not be here now. I'll take the challenges over the alternative any day.
We are having the fun run to benefit the StandUp Foundation we are starting. If we could help Project Walk come to Tx that would help us and lots more people who cannot afford treatment, air fare, and hotel in Ca. They are wanting to open in Austin at the end of this yr and I told them we would sure do what ever we can to help. Then, one day we could help pay for a child's therapy. It's $100 an hour and that is hard for many people considering the sessions are for 2 hrs 5 days a wk. Thank you so much for listening and spreading the word about the run. I truly do appreciate you. I know I probably have limits with exercise, but I'll keep testing the waters and push myself harder.
Tara McKittrick
[The run Tara refers to is the Godley Chamber of Commerce Fun Run on Saturday, May 17. The proceeds will benefit the Stand Up Foundation. There are entry forms at the studio and at boot camp. If you're interested in participating in the run or would like to make a donation, let us know!]
