Survivors of serious crashes can face life-long recovery
Fatal collisions can leave loved ones with a lifetime of heartbreak and crash survivors with a lifetime of recovery.
It's a reality Julie Wilson understands well. One night, 17 years ago, she took her car to pick up her husband, who was spending time with friends.
On the way home, another car crashed into the couple. Wilson's husband didn't make it, and she was rushed to hospital.
"It hurt. I'm telling you. It hurt so much. Then they brought me to the hospital, and then things are very blurry," she said.
Hear Julie Wallace tell her story in a CBC Radio One documentary:
'Hopefully an area you never have to see'
For crash survivors like Wilson, the long journey to recovery starts in a trauma bay at Sudbury's Health Sciences North.
"This is hopefully an area you never have to see," said Dr. Jason Prpic, while standing in the emergency department's trauma room.
"We will receive people for any type of motor vehicle collision where they need medical care — whether those are minor or major traumas," he said.
The hospital also takes in patients from across northeastern Ontario who suffer major trauma.
Health Sciences North deals with about 40 major trauma cases a year. Collisions and head and neck injuries are among the most common, Prpic said
"I'd love to see zero patients. It's an emotional thing for us to treat these patients," he said.
"It's always a difficult time when this person was perfectly fine minutes before the accident."
Most patients who make it to the hospital alive end up surviving, Prpic said.
But once they are stabilized, a much longer phase of recovery often begins.
Re-learning basic skills
In a unit not far from the trauma area at Health Sciences North, Carol Di Salle works with many patients who suffer brain injuries as a result of serious collisions.
The rehab unit includes a kitchen and laundry area, because recovery for some patients means re-learning daily routines taken for granted before the collision, such as cooking a meal or doing laundry.
"It's really hard to give people advice about what their recovery is going to be. You just have to keep at it everyday and provide the needed therapy and services. Only time will tell how far they will get."
Knowing what could lie ahead for those involved, Di Salle said it's difficult to hear when another serious crash is in the news.
"I don't think any of us like to hear those stories, or see those situations. It's extremely difficult for the patients and really for their families," she said. "You can never help people as much as you want to."
Once patients have finished therapy at the hospital, they continue their work to return to normal life continues.
Almost two decades of recovery
Almost two decades after her collision Julie Wilson is still dealing with the aftermath, including the affects of a brain injury that affects her sleep and personality.
Wilson said her injuries have made it difficult to work. And there are still countless appointments to attend.
"I still see the chiropractor once a week. I still do massage once a week. It's a full time job taking care of me as I call it," she said.
It has taken years to come to terms with both the loss of her husband, and the loss of what she calls "Old Julie," Wilson said.
"The grieving process is different than when somebody is physically gone, like my husband. You grieve for them because you know they are not coming back. But when I am in my body I am still here. There are some parts of the old Julie that comes out, but I have to deal with the new Julie. This is the new Julie now."