The Accident and the surgery:

This is Andrea writing for Marisa! She wants for you guys to feel involved in this whole process of recovery, as well as have a way for her to remember what is going on, who has visited, and how far she has come! So here we go!

(This is the way, I, Marisa remember it, not necessarily what everyone remembers or what is in all of the reports and articles). On Monday the 9^th of August we were on our way to Mammoth for XC Camp, when the van I was in was suddenly hit by a SUV. Basically I just saw a flash of light coming at us, and before I knew it there were flames everywhere and I was in a lot of pain. Coaches were trying to pull people out of our van.  I asked Coach to get me out and he couldn’t because my leg was stuck, the leg that is broken. I didn’t know what was going on around me other than that firefighters were working to get me out and no one in my van responded when I tried to talk to them, other than the coaches that were talking to me.  I didn’t know if people were alive or unconscious, because no one was responding, and I was in so much pain myself that everything was fuzzy. I can’t remember if I turned around and looked, or what I said to them…basically not all of the pieces of the puzzle are there in my mind. I tried to talk to my roommate Rebecca who was laying against me, and she wasn’t responding. Our driver was in front of me and she didn’t sound good at all, but I was so out of it I had no idea if either one was okay or not. The whole time I was just in a lot of pain and I was praying that I would be able to get out of the van soon.

 I was in the ambulance with Rebecca on the way to Bishop and I don’t remember anything in there except that there was a firefighter holding my hand and comforting me. Then I was taken to Mammoth and there was a paramedic in the ambulance who was also holding my hand and comforting me for the long ride there. The paramedic was there for me when they had to straighten my broken leg out for the first time. I was really scared because I was alone but people came to visit me before my mom was able to get there. I can’t remember their names, but they were from the Mammoth camp and they were praying with me and holding my hand for a while. One of my teammates dad’s came and held my hand and prayed with me before I was moved to another room.  Once I was moved, my mom and Kurt and Wendy Thielen got there soon after. I had amazing nurses, who loved on me and cared for me while I was scared and in a lot of pain. I couldn’t eat because I was scheduled to have surgery in Mammoth on Tuesday at nine am. Then our insurance provider ordered a plane and had us moved to Riverside.

My mom came with me on the plane and it was very uncomfortable because there was a brace holding my leg together and it was underneath my hip and my tailbone and it was very hard. The ambulance ride from the Riverside airport to the hospital was so bumpy and painful. Then we got to the hospital, and soon the Snyders got there and stayed with me a bit during the x-rays and things like that. Val and I got closer because she had to stay with me through some very difficult situations. God blessed me with having friends there as soon as I got there and also the dean of admissions from CBU came along with her husband (Gail and Roy) and they were so loving and caring right off the bat. Both families helped ease a lot of stress for me and my parents. I still hadn’t had anything to eat and I was more than ready for surgery!  Prep for surgery was difficult, and finally I had surgery in the late evening on Tuesday.  Wendy, Kurt, and my Daddy showed up right before the surgery which was perfect timing! After surgery, everything has been pretty much a blur except for seeing one of Andrea’s close friends Trevor.