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My name is Lynette. I am sending this letter today as a present - not a tangible gift, but the gift of knowledge. What I'd like to say is something very serious, something I hope you will take to heart and think about very carefully. I hope that my words and actions will aid you in making a decision - a decision that could very well save your life one day. Even if just one of you heeds what I have to say, that will make my speech worthwhile.

Back in August of 2000 I made a very stupid mistake, a mistake that changed my entire life. I chose to drink and drive and as you can see by the photos here, have been paying for that mistake ever since.

Let me give you a little background. Before the accident, I led a very active lifestyle. I enjoyed water skiing, jogging, snow skiing, biking and I used to figure skate competitively. In my late teens, I won the Canadian North Central Regions in Whitehorse and later went on to compete in Vancouver. After that, I was a skating coach, teaching classes ranging in all ages and skills. I also operated an in-home daycare when my children were young. I almost died twice after my car wreck and so I lost custody of my children. My ex husband and his wife now have custody and have moved them to Alabama. (My kids saw me in the hospital.... I had just had my boneflap removed and my head shaved; my daughter, who was 5 at the time, ran back to the elevator as fast as her little legs could carry her.)

Things were a lot different before this happened. It all started one beautiful summer evening in August of 2000. I went out drinking that night and my brother drove me home. I started drinking again the next day, and that’s when I made a choice, a very bad choice; I decided to drive out to my parent’s cabin at Big Lake. I was on the Likely road when the accident happened. I was driving too fast and lost control of my truck. I hit the ditch and rolled three times. My truck was so damaged that I am amazed that they were able to get me out alive. I don’t have any memory of the accident; I do not know how long I was in the truck before someone found me.

After the paramedics saw my truck they thought I would never make it. They were sure that I’d be dead before I even got to the hospital. In fact, I was dead upon arrival to the hospital. A doctor examined me and saw a response in one pupil. He decided to try and save me. My aunt was there and said I was cold to the touch, but the doctor told her to keep talking to me.

I had suffered a severe brain injury. My brain was bleeding and swelling. In order to save my life, the doctors needed to operate immediately. They rushed me to the operating room, and Dr. Brosseuk removed a small piece of bone from my skull, to relieve the pressure. When they felt I was stabilized, they froze the damaged part of my skull and air ambulanced me to the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

My parents and husband (at the time) had to drive to Kamloops; a three hour trip not knowing if I would be dead or alive when they got there. Can you imagine how they felt?

I was in a coma in ICU in Kamloops for one month. I was on a breathing machine because I could not breathe on my own. I was being fed by a tube that went up my nose, down my throat, and into my stomach.

I had other injuries from the accident besides a bleeding brain. I had nerve damage in my spine which caused complete paralysis of my right arm and partial paralysis of my right leg leaving me with a limp.

When I came out of the coma, the work started, for me, my parents and my husband. I had to learn walking, talking, sitting on my own and even feeding myself left handed, as my right had been left permanently paralyzed. I was in the hospital for 4 ½ long months. I was so lucky, things could have been much much worse.

When I was released from the hospital, I came home to Williams Lake to live with my parents because my husband could not care for me. He had to work full-time.

One and a half years of rehabilitation and lots of pain, I worked with a speech pathologist and a physiotherapist. We mainly worked on my walking, as I was in a wheelchair for so long. I now have a brace for my leg and ankle so I can walk better. My walking has really improved.

Now I am left with a paralyzed arm and a limp. I was right handed before and have had to adjust to using only my left.

I have since realized with the help of close friends that I am capable of a lot more than I ever thought I would be.

I find it very frustrating that I cannot even do the simple things that you may take for granted like butter a slice of bread or make a sandwich, even cutting up vegetables is next to impossible for me now.

Have you ever tried putting on your socks with only one hand which isn't your dominant hand? How about tying shoe laces? I have springy shoe laces to overcome that. How about making your bed? Or just getting dressed? Doing dishes? Just simple things that you take for granted. This has opened my eyes as the things I used to do as second nature; I cannot do anymore. I can’t ride a bike anymore. I can only hug with one arm. How about a simple thing like opening a jar of jam? I can’t blow dry or curl my hair. Just simple things to you, but for me I need someone to do it for me now. I am not someone who likes to be pittied; I like to do it myself.

I have a care worker who comes to my apartment once per week and she cuts vegetables for salad, fruits, and cuts cheese. She prepares the things I can’t for the next week. She even does any personal grooming and general house work that I cannot do.

My short term memory was severely damaged, luckily that was all considering the head injury I sustained. I can no longer drive a car. So I have lost that independence that I once knew. My disabilities are forever. Not just a week or two.

There are a lot of things that I have had to live with or without because of drinking and driving that day. I just wish I never would have done it. So please, please do not drink and drive or even get in a car with someone that has been drinking. You have the opportunity to make the right decision. I made the wrong one. It could be you standing up here with these disabilities or worse …  you might be dead.

I hope this has really opened your eyes to what can happen and believe me, it is not worth it. Drinking and driving not only affects you but it affects your family, friends, children, boyfriend, and girlfriend not only yourself.

Finally, I would like to add that I have been sober since 2003. This is the decision that I should have made in the first place. I would still have a very fulfilling life which would include a husband and 2 children.

Every time I speak in front of students, I relive that horrible experience in my life . I leave here drained emotionally. I know I must move forward and part of what I do is a healing for me to save even 1 of your lives and stop you from drinking and driving.

Like I said before, if hearing this story helps save even one of you reading this to make the right decision, then the time taken to write this letter has been worth it for me.

Thank-you for listening.

Lynette Welch
Williams Lake, BC

 

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