Andrew's accident pt 2.

After shock had set in, we finally started wondering what had happened.  Family members called to talk with the police officer that had called me on the day of the accident.  At the time he could only give us a little information because they were going to have to investigate... no witnesses.  He said he would let us know when the police report was finished and when we could come pick it up.  All he could tell us at that point was the accident was a head-on collision, the other vehicle was a Jeep Commander and where they towed the car.

I went with my dad to look at the car and retrieve items from it and also take pictures.  Many people were worried about me seeing the car, but I had too.  I had to see what the car looked like, why was Andrew hurt so badly?  I am debating about posting a picture of the car on here so after you read what happened you can show it to people who might need to see it.

The day I went to get the police report...  I was so angry that day, and the crazy thing about that was we did not have all the information then either.  First page gave me the name, date of birth, insurance, car type, ect. for the other driver along with the same for Andrew.  The other car was then called vehicle 1 and Andrew's vehicle 2.     The second page read:  Driver of  vehicle 1 stated that he 'was looking down at an address and he must have crossed the center line and hit'  vehicle 2.

LOOKING FOR AN ADDRESS!!!!! Later during the other drivers trial he also admitted to being on the phone, a business call, while on his way to a client meeting.  There is also strong speculation that the driver was speeding too.  The accident was on a frontage road next to I-270, a very curvy road.  The accident was right on a curve.  No one had seen it happen but some drivers who were approaching on I-270 saw debris flying in the air, pulled over and helped at the scene... a nurse and a former EMT.

Andrew does not remember what he was doing on the road that day.  We can only piece it together.  Our bank statement shows he got some lunch, and his work badge was at home. So maybe he was going to get his badge.


Sorry now I will backtrack a little.  Five days after the accident (May 16) was my graduation from Metro State.  I cancelled my party but decided to walk at graduation anyway.  I was thinking about not walking months before and Andrew said I had to and would regret no doing it... so then I felt I had to walk still.  I called to check up on Andrew in the morning and everything was the same, stable but still not enough.

I had my phone on me just in case, and I needed it.  People were walking on stage to get their diploma and my phone rings.  "Shawna, a nurse noticed that one of Andrew's pupils was dilated larger than the other.  We took him for a CT and he has possibly had a stroke and there is fluid on his brain.  We are calling to get verbal permission to place a monitoring device in his skull."  Soon after I was called up for my diploma.

At the hospital we learned that Andrew had suffered some mini strokes.  The strokes were caused from fat cells that got into the bloodstream.  The fat cells escaped from the breaks in femurs (long bones have fat cells).  Usually if that were to happen the lungs filter out the fat, and since Andrew's lings were so badly damaged they could not do the job and the cells went to the brain.  If you want to do more research look up the term 'fat emboli'.

So now I am in the part of the story where we are waiting for Andrew cranial pressure to stay normal.  The hospital staff can not lay him flat for long periods of time or his pressure would go up.  They still can not do the remaining operations on his legs because of his lungs and now the cranial pressure and not being able to lay him flat. Also because they can not lay him flat he also can not get a feeding tube into his stomach or have a tracheostomy so the breathing tubes are not continued to be shoved down his mouth.