Nicaragua

2011 is the year my life almost ended after completing a study abroad. I was nineteen years old and a sophomore at the University of Arizona. I chose to study in Guatemala during the fall semester. The semester ended with another student inviting me to visit her brother working in Nicaragua. 

I asked, “Where does this brother work?” She answered with the city I will never forget, “Ometepe. On the island in Lake Nicaragua near the border to Costa Rica.”  

Collision

I agreed to join her on a winter trip before meeting my mom and sister in Costa Rica for a vacation. We arrived at a mainland dock to board a boat to Ometepe where we met a young man who invited us to his family’s reunion party. We attended the family’s party until we decided to leave later that night. The same man who invited us to the reunion drove me on his motorcycle with other friends behind us.

We were driving without any other vehicle in front of us until another appeared without a headlight on. We collided and I flew unconscious while my driver slid on the pavement. A U.S. nurse traveling in Ometepe assisted my driver and I. She knew the island didn’t have a hospital necessary for our injuries.

We were taken aboard a ship for the mainland to a hospital in Managua. On the boat I lay unconscious beside my driver who spoke with the nurse until passing away. The U.S. Embassy contacted my mom to alert her about my near-fatal accident and where I was being taken. Eleven hours passed since the accident before I arrived at a hospital for medical attention. My mom and sister flew from Arizona to Managua, Nicaragua, in almost the same amount of time. 

Medical Assistance

The Managua hospital placed me in a coma after they performed leg surgery for my broken femur and patella. My mom was seeking any help she could get for medical evacuation because insurance companies wouldn’t assist a customer traveling abroad. Every day she called medical professionals and friends she knew from her health career for support.  Finally, she found a medical evacuation pilot who offered to pick me up.

On the eleventh day I left the Managua hospital for the pilot to fly my family and I to Tucson, AZ. Upon landing, I was brought to the University Medical Center (UMC) hospital. I left the coma and lay on a patient’s bed with little movement. My mom and sister hoped for my recovery as others feared the worse. UMC notified my mom about transferring me to an assisted living facility at the end of January, almost 2 months after my accident. My mom didn’t believe this was my final state of recovery and informed UMC to move me up to Barrow Hospital in Phoenix, AZ.

Recovery

Barrow is where my recent memory returned. I woke up and didn’t know where I was. I recognized my mom and sister in the room next to my bed. Suddenly a nurse walked in and gave me a shot. I learned about the night my life nearly ended, how I learned to swallow, eat and walk again. I suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and will attend therapy to further my recover every day.

Three more months in the Barrow hospital passed with another knee surgery before I was sent to a rehabilitation center, Rehab Without Walls. At this clinic, I would attend individual therapy sessions before returning to an assisted living house. The recovery seemed never-ending as I went from hospital to therapy sessions. 

Returning Home

Two month therapy proceeded with Rehab Without Walls before I finally stayed at my home in Tucson. My twentieth birthday passed and I was overjoyed to be alive. My life was impacted, but I am persistent to finish my goals. This started with completing my education at the University of Arizona.

I certainly won’t graduate with old colleagues, but my life took a major fall. I am learning fundamental life skills to become the best person I can be. Traumatic events occurred through my return to education, but family taught me to value the brain. My recovery climbs with determination for success found in myself and others.