You've Come A Long Way Baby!

Art work from Gee Marie

This is a comment from Litonya(from the November 9th post, "Their Journey"), a close relative of Sallie's. It gives us a different point of view from someone who saw Sallie in the beginning, saw her struggle towards recovery.

"You've come a long way, Baby! Sallie, when I got the call from Mike that you had been in an accident, had been hospitalized and were going home to finish recovering, I decided it was time to make the long drive for a visit and show you my support. We live so far from each other but I wanted to make sure you were ok and that you knew how much I love you. Mike sounded nervous on the phone. I balled him out for not calling sooner... So Aunt Lynne (my mom) and I made the trip. I was shocked. You could not find the words to express things you knew you wanted to do. You recognized me but couldn't say my name. You couldn't remember what "that thing that mixes up the clothes" was(while gesturing the action of the washing machine's agitator). On the other hand, you could cuss like a sailor and you looked ok. But I knew there was something seriously wrong. The look of shock still lingered on Mike's face. I felt bad that I had to leave. I wanted to do something but didn't know what I could possibly do. When we left, I looked at my mom and said, "She's like a 5 year old! This is awful. Poor Mike. She has no idea what is going on and he just looks lost. I hope to God she will improve with time." Mom was equally concerned. I talked to you on the phone about a week later and you had made a huge improvement! You knew who I was, kind of. Not yourself but better. The following week, better! The next visit to your house, you repeated things a lot but you knew my name. You were obsessed with getting a job. I kept saying, "Hon, you gotta give yourself more time. You are not ready to go back to work." You: "No! I HAVE to get a job!" Me: "It's ok. You will get there. But you have to stop stressing out!" I remember one conversation you were asking me if I thought you would ever be like you were before the accident. I told you that you needed to get lots of sleep so your brain could heal and re-create the neuropathways that had been damaged. I didn't know if that was true but was drawing on what I had learned in college about the brain. But it seemed to give you hope and some comfort. I think it allowed you to relax a little. You were so stressed out! Nearly panicked. And I would say, "You are ok. You are getting better and better every day." And here you are! I'm so proud of you for not giving up and really going after more and better. You sought out help. You tried to gain understanding by doing research (once you figured out how to use the computer again). You pursued healing. You may not be totally the same but who is? You ARE the Sallie I grew up with. You are the same person that married Mike. You have some challenges you didn't have before but you've never allowed something like a mountain to get in your way! I love you much, Sis."