Sarah's Story 

Fifteen-year-old Sarah has no memory of Nov. 17, 2006.  Although that was the day her life changed, she knows that not remembering it is a good thing.

The teen was on her way home from school – just steps away from her home – when she crossed the street without looking both ways. A car accidentally hit her, knocking her unconscious.

Her mother, Brigid, received a call about the accident at work.

“My first reaction was to think maybe a broken bone. The time of the call was mid-afternoon, shortly after school dismissal

"I imagined the scene at the small elementary school. I knew dismissal to be orderly and supervised. There were designated areas for the car riders, bus riders and walkers. Sarah was in the eighth grade. She couldn’t possibly be seriously injured considering this picture.” 

She frantically called her husband, Mark, to give him the news as a co-worker made a phone call to 911 to find out the details. Soon, they had the devastating update: Sarah’s injuries were severe. She was in serious condition and was being flown to Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville via Life Flight®.

“I literally went limp. Everything was happening so fast and felt so surreal,” Brigid remembers. “I knew that despite my co-workers reassurances, ‘Life Flight ’meant it was very serious.”

Neurosurgeon Darren Jacobs, MD, was one of the first to see Sarah when she arrived in the trauma bay at Geisinger.

“Her injuries were severe, but there was hope,” Dr. Jacobs says. “We placed a monitor on her brain to measure the pressure, and that would determine the next step with her brain injuries.”

Sarah was suffering from a wide range of injuries, including swelling and bleeding in her brain, multiple facial and jaw bone fractures, and shocked bowel syndrome.  Her parents were told that she needed to get through the first 72 hours, then there would be room for hope. 

“Unfortunately, Sarah didn’t make it through the 72- hour mark without needing surgery,” Dr. Jacobs says. “The pressure worsened over the next day, and we had to take her to the operating room for emergency surgery.”

As Sarah’s mom recalls, “Sarah’s condition was critical. Nothing less than the highest level of skill and perseverance in medical practice along with many prayers could save her life.”

A number of surgeries and procedures followed that operation, with pediatric specialists from 12 different hospital departments assisting in her recovery. Sarah was withstanding the surgeries – a positive sign – but she remained in a coma. The Thanksgiving holiday passed with little progress to celebrate. That weekend, however, Sarah’s will seem to grow stronger.

“The doctors had been waiting for a cough and a gag from Sarah,” Brigid says. “Time is a gift. With every hour that passed, we were relieved and grateful to have Sarah. However, we were painfully aware that it was crucial for her to start to respond. That weekend, Sarah gave us all what we were anxiously waiting for: the cough. With that came an outburst of overwhelming emotion, and a belief that recovery was possible. Later that night, doctors noted the gag reflex. That was the start of Sarah coming back to us. She gave us the best Thanksgiving ever, even if it was a couple of days late.”

Those little victories, celebrated with friends and family, were what kept Mark and Brigid going through the ups and downs – along with the hope that Sarah would soon emerge from the coma. The family held vigil at her bedside, reading poems and stories and urging her to wake up.

“Coming out of a coma is a varied process,” Dr. Jacobs explains.  “Some patients will wake up over the course of a day or so, and some will take months. It can potentially be a very long process.”

“Although it was explained to us that you could not ‘wake‘ someone from a coma, we certainly tried. When the doctors gave us the OK to stimulate Sarah, we never gave up playing her music, speaking or reading to her, touching her or holding her hands,” Brigid smiles.

Sarah was there. She just needed to emerge. And her family had no option but to wait patiently at her side for that day to come. They relied on help from family, friends, and caregivers.

“The community support to our family was overwhelming,” Brigid says. “The wonderful outpouring of support, prayer, and generosity was sustaining.”

Additionally, Brigid credits the fine nursing personnel. “The nursing staff would go out of their way. It wasn’t just about Sarah’s care and comfort. They made sure we took care of ourselves as well and gave us tremendous support, the care was phenomenal.”

Around mid-December, Sarah was starting to squint. Then, there was a tremendous breakthrough: Sarah was starting to open her eyes. Brigid says she remembers it clearly: Sarah’s left eye started to crack, just enough to see the white of her eye. From there, she says, the progress continued.

At Christmastime, Sarah was communicating, indicating “one” for “yes” and “two” for “no.”  The nursing staff was finally able to say that Sarah was one of the most stable patients in the PICU, and she was ready to start therapy.

While she doesn’t remember much about that time spent recovering in the children’s hospital, she remembers how many people cared for her and were rooting for her.

“I know a lot about what happened from stories people have told me, but I remember when people would talk to me or someone would hold my hand or read a story or a poem,” Sarah says, noting that it was more frightening for those who were experiencing it than it was for her. “The people I met – doctors, nurses, Child Life – were fabulous. I can’t sing their praises enough.”

Brigid adds, “Have you ever heard of the ‘golden hour’, that time referring to the emergency response and care provided? Well, Sarah received the finest emergency care at the scene and subsequently, the finest surgical and pediatric intensive care treatment at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. I speak for our entire family when I say we are honored that Sarah was chosen as one of the Children’s Miracle Network miracle kids and we are eternally grateful to an extraordinary team of dedicated and skilled professionals who gave us that miracle.”

The day after Christmas, Sarah was transferred to Philadelphia for months of additional therapy. She finally returned home in the spring to a very grateful family with countless friends and neighbors all sharing an indescribable sense of relief and gratitude.

“When I finally got to come home, I kissed the doorframe and the wall,” Sarah smiles.

Today, the teen is well on her way. She is gradually building her school day and, her mom adds, she continues to exhibit her tremendous spirit and positive attitude. While she still undergoes some therapy, she has experienced great improvements – and recently started jumping rope again.

“With the severity of her injuries, we certainly never expected this outcome,” Dr. Jacobs says. “We wish we could see this happen more often.”

“Sarah is a very dedicated, hard worker. She’s driven, and when you tell her ‘no, ’it just encourages her to try harder. She’s driven to get back to where she was,” Brigid says.

Sarah hopes to use this experience to her advantage, and even plans to be a physiatrist – a physician specializing in physical medicine – when she gets older.

“I always knew I wanted to do something to help people,” Sarah says, “and I wouldn’t have known what without this experience.”

With her proven determination, there’s little doubt that Sarah will achieve all of her goals.

Sarah's story was featured during the 2008 Celebration broadcast on WYOU May 31 and June 1