Fast Finder:
Critical Difference Stories:
Neurosciences/Stroke Care
Christmas Gift: The Ashley Rivers Story
WATCH
VIDEO
Dropped
Call
Ashley and her mother Lynn had a busy evening
planned together. They were chatting about it on their cell phones as Ashley
was leaving work, and as Lynn was driving home. But the conversation came to
an abrupt end when Ashley squealed and the line went dead. Lynn redialed Ashley’s number a couple of times,
but the 17 year-old didn’t answer. Lynn tried to keep calm as she turned
her car around and headed in Ashley’s direction. Twin Falls is not a
large city, but the drive seemed to take forever. When Lynn approached an intersection
blocked by police and fireman, fear began pounding in her heart.
Lynn could see a car off the side of the road that looked a little like Ashley’s – she couldn’t be sure because the driver’s side was badly smashed. She parked and walked as close as she could to the scene, but was too far away to see who was trapped in the car. “It’s not Ashley,” she told herself a few times. Her denial and hopes melted when a police officer told her that the driver being rescued from the car was Ashley.
Lynn watched from a distance as fireman cut away the driver’s door, pulled out Ashley and laid her onto a stretcher. Quickly the stretcher was loaded into a waiting ambulance. Lynn was approaching panic as she tried in vain to reach her husband Scott. She had better luck reaching her brother-in-law Ken, a local police officer, who arrived quickly and drove her to the Twin Falls hospital. In the E.R. Lynn could see that Ashley had been intubated, a machine was now breathing for her. The only injury visible to her was to Ashley’s head.
Miles from Home
The E.R. doctor told Lynn that Ashley may have a brain
injury and that her best hope was Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.
An hour later, a Life Flight helicopter flew Ashley and Lynn to Boise. “The
30-minute flight felt like a lifetime,” Lynn recalls. While they were
in the air, Scott was making the two-hour drive to Boise with the family pastor.
At the Saint Alphonsus Trauma Center, the trauma team, lead by Frederick Foss,
M.D., F.A.C.S., was preparing for Ashley’s arrival. At Saint Alphonsus,
Lynn met Dr. Foss and neurosurgeon Michael V. Hajjar, M.D.
Their examinations revealed that a traumatic brain injury (TBI) was Ashley’s only serious problem, but that was enough. Ashley was in a coma; her vital signs were erratic and there was swelling around her brain. The swelling was causing intracranial pressure on her brain. One of the most damaging aspects of TBI can be elevated intracranial pressure - a potentially fatal condition.
After a flurry of activity in the trauma room, Ashley was moved to the Intensive Care Unit. Lynn spent that evening with Ashley in ICU - a far cry from the evening they had planned earlier that day. A lot of time would be spent between mother and daughter now while Ashley lies in a coma. Perhaps even more difficult was the challenge for Scott. It was up to him to maintain a normal life for their other two children - Ashley’s brothers - while he worked 12 hour days and prayed for his daughter, 130 miles away.
Holiday Celebration
“It was a real kick in the gut,” said Lynn describing a conversation
with Dr. Foss on day six. The trauma physician told Lynn and Scott to
brace for the worst - their daughter may never wake up. Later that day, Dr.
Hajjar surgically inserted a tube into Ashley’s head to help monitor
and relieve the dangerous intracranial pressure, a ventriculostomy.
Following the surgery, Ashley was placed into deep, drug-induced coma, to allow
the brain to rest and heal itself.
After four days the drugs were slowly reduced in hopes Ashley would slowly wake up. While the medical team monitored brain activity and vital signs, the family measured progress through Ashley’s incremental movements. Eye movements were hopeful signs, swallowing and tongue movements were significant and arm movements were glorious. After six days, the coma-inducing medication was stopped, but it would still be days until they knew if Ashley would fully awaken.
With the arrival of Christmas Eve came a reminder to Scott and Lynn; Ashley’s recovery is a “marathon, not a sprint.” With her eyes fully opened, Ashley remained largely unresponsive and comatose. A Christmas Day visit from Dr. Foss brought a ray of hope when he appeared to be “pleasantly surprised” by Ashley’s progress. Dr. Hajjar brightened up the holiday when he discovered that Ashley’s intracranial pressure had dropped sufficiently for him to remove the drain tube from her head.
The Next Phase
The next two weeks brought continued progress. After
27 days in ICU, Ashley was able to move into a patient room. Bit by bit, Ashley’s
movements gradually increased and she began making sounds, and soon was breathing
on her own. By the end of January, Ashley slowly emerged from her coma.
Ashley’s recovery entered another phase when Michael McMartin, M.D., entered her room. It was his responsibility to direct Ashley’s long and uncertain rehabilitation, leading the Brain Injury Team with Saint Alphonsus Inpatient Rehabilitation.
The Brain Injury Program at Saint Alphonsus has been helping people rebuild their lives since 1986. The team of brain injury specialists deals with a spectrum of medical, physical, cognitive, behavioral, emotional and psychological problems. They would now collaborate to re-train Ashley’s brain and body. Lynn’s contribution is valued by the team, and she is invited to team meetings where treatment strategy is planned and progress discussed. Six days a week, 2 ½ hours each day, the tag-team of therapists would push Ashley to her limit. Just watching the action was tiring for Lynn.
The Power of Tenacity
The following months were filled with milestones; Ashley’s first intelligible
words, re-learning to dress herself, her first steps…logging into Facebook. “I
see glimpses of her humor and tenacity which is just a joy to behold,” Lynn
said proudly. The once unlikely dream of going home became a reality on Ashley’s
four-month anniversary of her arrival at Saint Alphonsus.
Eight months after her near-fatal accident, Ashley’s recovery continues. Saint Alphonsus Rehabilitation Services in Meridian (STARS) continues to treat Ashley. The eighteen-year-old has also enrolled in equine therapy to enhance her muscle strength, balance, confidence and joy.
Reflecting on her daughter’s journey, Lynn said, “She isn’t back to where she was, but she is far past what we ever dared to hope for in the beginning. It’s definitely a miracle that she is where she is… and she continues to defy the odds. Ashley amazes me every day.”
When Ashley was asked about her future goals, she firmly responded, “Walking.” A self-described “nerd”, Ashley is also planning on getting back in school. Her speech has come a long way, but is still slow, deliberate and slightly slurred – as she works hard to find the right words. This could give one the impression that her thoughts are also slow. But when asked about her “traumatic brain injury”, she looked up and quietly asked, “What brain injury isn’t traumatic?” No one knew how to respond, but Ashley already knew the answer.
