May. 20, 2007 - 10:29 MDT

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

I guess that's what we are in a way, I don't think one can truly appreciate the survival of another unless he or she has been through a similar experience. Although mine was not as severe the pain and troubles she experienced, it is a reminder to me by reading of what this woman went through.

Going from an article in our paper, by the Associated Press, "Shannon Malloy was critically injured in a car crash that slammed her into the dashboard. Her skull separated from her spine, although her skin, spinal cord and other internal organs remained intact."

Of course medical science has a name for it, known clinically as "internal decapitation."

"She had no control over her head. She did suffer nerve damage that made her eyes cross but she was not paralyzed."

One doctor, an orthopedic surgeon said he and his colleagues had never seen such an injury in someone still living.

Then a very short description of a long time rate of survival for Shannon Malloy. "Her will to survive kept her alive long enough for surgeons to insert screws into her head and neck and attach a halo to minimize movement -- no easy task."

"Doctors eventually stablizied her head and strengthened her neck. The halo has since been removed."

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I was lucky in that we were wearing seat belts when our car went astray, rolled across opposing lanes of traffic and ended up in the barrow pit. The roof on my side of the car was severly dented in, which probably is the reason that my neck was broken in the accident.

Memories flood my mind, of the pain, the long flight to Denver, and the administration of sedative drugs which put me in outer orbit, but didn't black out the pain of having a halo put on.

The "halo," the Devil's idea of sheer torture is a circular device of metal that has four very sharp pointed screws through it. It is positioned and then the screws are turned inward. The final bit is done with torque wrenches in order to not crack the skull. I do remember the pain associated with that and hollering during it. Then, blackness for an amount of time.

During that time stabilizing tubes went from the halo to my chest area into sockets on a belt in a jacket. Under the jacket was a sheepskin coat to temper the pressure and discomfort.

The entire time I wore the halo I was in pain from it, although it was a necessary evil.

By the time I went into physical therapy in hospital muscles in my shoulder and arm on one side had begun to atrophy due to nerve damage in my spinal area.

I wasn't into the halo for the prescribed number of months, as one screw was causing my skull to crack and I was put into a cervical collar, which was uncomfortable but not nearly as bad as the halo.

For about a year a physical therapist came to our home and like a drill sergeant saw to my exercises, which included medicine walks around the apartment complex where we lived.

Through that time there were frequent visits with professionals at the hospital to monitor my progress. One of the things I disliked was the fact that I had to be there at 8 AM and wait my turn.

I did progress well, and the pain ebbed gradually, still a bit here and there, but tolerable.

My heart goes out to Shannon Malloy and the ever so long recovery she must be going through. I also hope that her eyes came back to normal as well. But being beheaded in one's own skin is an ordeal that I wouldn't wish on anybody. So, in a way, Shannon Malloy and I are BIRDS OF A FEATHER . . . . . . .

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