Darcy Keith's Near Death Experience:
"The stretch of road from Muncie, Indiana, to Morehead, Kentucky, is only 280 miles long –a road trip normally lasting less than six hours. When I started out on that road, I was a gifted student, enrolled at Ball State University in one of the top actuarial science programs in the country. With dreams of being a successful career woman, I was offered a golden opportunity as the first student intern for a national insurance carrier just before my senior year of college.
After successfully completing the eight month internship, I then returned to Ball State to complete my actuarial science degree. Little did I know that my dreams for the future would be shattered in just three weeks.
In early September of that year, four sorority sisters and I were returning to Ball State from an event at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. Just as we entered the southern outskirts of Cincinnati, something went terribly wrong. My sorority sister lost control of our vehicle in the wind shear of two passing semis. The car ended up sideways in the middle of the northbound interstate lanes, trapped in the path of an oncoming Freightliner semi-tractor trailer.
The resulting crash’s impact was so great that the car’s crumpled side panel bore the imprint of the semi’s front license plate.
When the screeching and grinding came to a halt, the two girls belted in the front seats were able to exit the car and walk away. The three unbuckled girls, myself included, in the back weren’t so lucky. Two were instantly killed. The paramedics could not tell at first whether I had survived the crash; they had to remove some of my nail polish to be sure. If I were dead, the color under my fingernail would have been blue. It was pink. Barely breathing and placed on life support, I was taken by Life Flight helicopter to the University of Cincinnati Hospital and admitted to the surgical critical care unit.
The injuries I sustained were massive. Unconscious, I remained in a coma for six days with a left and front lobe brain injury that paralyzed my body’s right side. The doctors told my parents that the prognosis was grim. Damage to the left side of my brain resulted in a significant loss of memory and impaired my motor skills. Awaking from my coma, I had to prepare to learn a new lifestyle. With no control over my bodily functions, I endured the humiliation of wearing adult diapers. Getting around required the use of a wheel chair. Gone was any recall of the crash.
Gone were the physical skills and coordination of an active young adult. Gone was the ability to do the higher level math required for actuarial science. My dream of becoming a successful career woman had vanished.
Beside my hospital bed was a chart listing various tasks that I would have to complete independently before I could be discharged. I refused to dwell on my injuries or give up hope. Completing each task became my new goal. With determination, I began relearning simple skills like brushing my teeth, tying my shoes, and going to the bathroom. Then I progressed to relearning more complex skills like how to eat, walk, and behave appropriately for someone my age. Slowly, one by one, each item on the chart was completed and checked off.
My doctors estimated that my recovery would take one to two years. They told my mother privately that I would leave the hospital with a cane, but I left weeks earlier than the doctors had predicted without assistance. Seeing me experience a speedy, remarkable recovery in just a few months, the nursing staff deemed me “The Miracle Child.”
After being discharged from the hospital, my first priority was to get my life back in order. When I re-enrolled at Ball State University, I had to choose a new major. I had lost the ability to complete my original major - actuarial science - in the crash due to extensive brain damage. While I was able to relearn simple arithmetic through memorization, the analytical skills required for more complex mathematical applications were no longer accessible. Boy, was my work cut out for me as I struggled to learn the material in my new courses. But through intense studying and concentration, "The Miracle Child" graduated with a bachelor's degree in insurance a short year and a half after leaving the hospital.
Today, I am a wife and mother, professional inspirational speaker, NCAA Registered
Speaker, and author as well as work as a business analyst with one of the largest insurance companies in the United States. I have turned my tragedy into triumph by sharing my personal story and offer numerous programs to help others lead the life that they really want, as well as providing testimony for various laws that address brain injury prevention and research in Indiana’s legislature.
The stretch of road from Muncie, Indiana, to Morehead, Kentucky, is only 280 miles long –a road trip normally lasting less than six hours. Although my dreams were forever changed by a crash on this road, I found the inner strength to persevere despite my severe injuries and the dire predictions of my medical specialists, and have emerged as an expert on surviving and thriving though life’s challenges and trials."
HOW DID THESE EVENTS CHANGE SABRINA'S LIFE?
HD: Do you have a different outlook on life after this tragic event?
Darcy: Yes, I've a different outlook on life. While my mom says that I'm still tight with my money after the car crash, my college insurance professor says that I'm more down-to-earth. I try to live each day to the fullest. One of my brain injuries is to the left frontal lobe, which deals with personality. But, I think I'm more in tune with life and my environment that I enjoy it more. I tend to focus on what I can do, rather than what I can't.
How did you gain the strength to go back to school after losing your memory?
Darcy: I gained the strength to go back to college physically and mentally by trying to get back into doing what I used to. I worked for my mother in her bridal store, waiting on customers, taking money, etc. I tried to play sports, but didn't have much luck to due to my weakness on my body's right side. The key to my emotional strength to go back to college was to keep the goal and desire of obtaining my college degree as my focus and worked extremely hard towards achieving it.
HD: For others who have suffered the loss of their loved ones due to a tragic event, what advice can you give them?
Darcy: The advice that I would give someone who have suffered the loss of a loved one due to a tragic event would be that you will get through it. Each person deals with grief differently, but there is hope. Time will help heal the void left by the loved one.
What is the S.T.E.P.S formula?
Surrender, let go what you can't control.
Try not to play the victim attitude.
Exemplify a positive attitude.
Persevere with fortitude and determination.
Specifically ask for help, if needed.
Darcy is known as "The Queen of Survival" and "The Miracle Child", as well as being an expert in overcoming adversity and brain injury. You can contact Darcy through her website, or e-mail.
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