The accident

*I probably need to add a TRIGGER WARNING

It was November 13th 1994. I was 7 years old.

I lived in Creston Iowa at the time.

I am technically the 2nd of 7, (I came 6 minutes before my sister.) but at the time there were 5 of us.

I loved Iowa. I was small then, but I remember several things about that time in my life. I loved my friends: Brittney, Megan, and Jessica. I had a crush on Tim. I loved my teachers, Mrs. Merboth and Mrs. Stalker. I loved my house and my big yard.  The house was a castle to me.  I loved that there was some wetlands behind our house. I ran to them often. I am still surprised that my mom let us young kids wonder down there. I remember I escaped a nap to go play by the water and trees. I have always been drawn to exploring. Maybe because my mom aloud it.

On this one particular morning, it was Sunday. November 13th 1994. We were headed to church. But this day was different because this was a meeting where all the members of my church in a certain area met to listen to sermons. We called it “stake conference!”

We were running late that morning. I imagine it was difficult for my parents to gather 5 little children and get them in the car that early to travel 2 hours away.

It was raining when we got there. My dad pulled up to the curb close to the doors to let us all get out and run inside to keep us from getting soaking wet. I dropped a piece of candy under the car. It was a green mint candy. My mom gave a little bag of treats to us kids. Since the meeting runs a few hours, she made an attempt to give us things to stay quiet.

My dad pulled the van ahead thinking that we all were now headed into the church building. He heard a sound. Not thinking of course that this was his baby girl, he pulled ahead again. At this point, the van had run completely over my skull and down to my pelvis. I was crushed.

My mom started screaming to tell my dad it was me. “No….Stop!! It’s Jenna!”

He got out of the car, and as you can imagine he lost control of his wits. But he was aware enough to yell to heaven and commanded God to allow me to live.

Miraculously there was an officer in the area. Right next to the church. This was not his area. But it was tonight. God put him there. He called life flight and tried to clean up some of the blood. I didn’t look good. And the prognosis didn’t either.

I had a cracked pelvis. Broken ribs. A basil skull fracture from eat to ear. Bulged eyes. A torn ear. I was paralyzed on my right side, and was experiencing internal bleeding.

God is a God of miracles. He has a plan for you and me. I survived. This was his plan for me. It was miraculous.

I have many purposes.

One of those is to spread awareness of the affects of a brain injury. Which can be a concussion or any neurological disorder…

I am here to let you know that you are not alone, and that there is hope on the way!

After the accident and the recovery, I was sent into the world and my brain injury was never brought up again. I occasionally had my hearing and eyes checked, but that was it. Ignorance is bliss, they say.

The time that I started realizing something was wrong, was when I was 19 years old. And this is the journey I will take you on.

I hope that I can help you not feel so alone.

Your body has the answers. YOU have the answers. Don’t doubt yourself.

The “no option rule” is a rule that I keep for myself that has helped me get up every single day. That no matter how much depression I had, no matter how much pain I had in any other way…. I would get up. It’s not an option to give up.

And it’s not an option to become victim to my symptoms or to believe that I had to feel so terrible. There had to be answers.

There was!