Emergency Plan

Think about this everyone has a fire emergency plan, everyone has a tornado drill plan but does anyone really have an emergency plan.  Probably not, because no one wants to think that they will ever be in an accident, trauma or have a severe medical condition.  We didn’t either but life happens and unfortunately isn’t perfect.  We are talking beyond power of attorney and wills yes those are definately needed too.  Here is an example of some of the things we wish we had talked about or had in place prior to the accident.

1.  Get extended family members telephone numbers.

First and foremost the closest living relatives should be contacted immediately. Have a piece of paper with important family members phone numbers in your car, pocket, purse or wallet.  Remember phones can die or get lost in wreckage and all of your contact information is gone.  Also have your sibling's in laws numbers and give your in laws your family’s phone numbers.  You never know when they might need to be contacted.  A lot of people aren't listed anymore or just have cell phones so it's always a good idea to have all of that information ahead of time.  Remember Kate was by herself for four hours and this step could have cut that time down significantly.

                2. Designate family member’s/friends roles.

A good emergency plan will have at least three caretakers.  The first caretaker needs to be at the hospital twenty four seven if at all possible.  Kate had wonderful care but we did catch some nursing errors by having someone there.  We also were able to keep her safe as she went through many agitation stages remember nurses are taking care of more than one patient and most times are overworked.  The next caretaker will be for your child/children and or pets.  Make sure the family member/friend that is given a role knows the routine for your child so that they can make the transition seamless for example Ava was a cosleeper with Kate and a picky eater not only that she was still breastfeeding.  I knew that and immediately knew what was best to keep Ava comforted with some of her same routines at home.  Unfortunately the doctors made us make a decision to not pump Kate for milk because she needed every calorie her body was producing for her recovery and Kate never told me about an online milk sharing program.  Try to keep everything as “normal as possible”.  Make sure that the caretaker is able to spend quality time with your child/children and or pets prior to an accident not on a daily basis but on a basis that it wouldn’t be scary for the interim time period.  Don’t forget that the family member/friend that needs to take care of your children or animals has to know where a spare key is to your house.  You may not be awake to tell someone where they could find your keys let alone they could get lost in the wreckage.  The third caretaker is essential because they are there when either one of the first two caretakers need a much needed break. 

                3.  Start a donation account.

Through a local bank you can start a fund and people can donate any amount that they can.  We started one immediately through Lebanon Citizens National Bank, 2 North Broadway, Lebanon, Ohio, 45036, Bottom of Formin the name of The Bowles Family Relief Fund.  Anyone can send a check payable to the Funds name in any amount to any of the bank's locations and they will deposit it into the account.  This was so helpful because both Katie and her husband were in the accident and it paid their first few rent payments right after the accident.  Medical bills following are outrageous and you will have to weed through that mess also.  Every little bit counts.

                4.  Get a group email alert to immediate caregivers. 

This eliminates telling the story over and over and over.  You will be tested in the beginning and this will help keep your energy focused on the family member involved in the accident instead of on the phone for hours at a time.  So update those email addresses. 

A Sister's Perspective By: Jeanne

We were still celebrating the holiday festivities preparing to ring in a prosperous New Year. My husband chose to expand his career with a different company which meant a higher paying salary and better benefits. 2012 was going to be our year we moved into a new home and decided to host for the first time a New Year's Eve party because we finally had the space to invite all of our friends and family. My sister Kate moved back to Ohio with her husband Zach and her daughter Ava to start an all American life. She went from a one bedroom apartment in Sacramento to a three bedroom house with a huge yard. I was excited because she moved to the town where I live and was eager to make a better life for her family. We were all on a high note until December 28th at 7:42 p.m., my phone rang. It was my mom. She shook me to my core with these words "your sister has been in an accident, a plane accident." My jaw dropped and I didn't know what to say. I really didn't believe her.  My sister lives two seconds from me and had talked about going to the art museum. Why would she be in a plane she has a little eighteen month old baby? Not only that but her in laws were coming here to visit she would have never been in a plane especially today. I told my mom someone is playing a cruel joke on us it isn't real. Then these words shook me out of my disbelief "Jean this is REAL it has happened. I have packed my bags and am headed to the hospital with Josh (my nephew)". All of a sudden a flashback to February 2002 almost ten years ago came rushing back to me chilling me to my core. I received a similar phone call from my mom about having to get to the hospital due to an emergency with a frightfully different outcome. My father suffered a fatal heart attack and passed away before we could get to him. I was thirty years old and four months pregnant with my youngest daughter. What happened to the confident, strong, blessed person I had built myself into? I was standing in the middle of a tornado being ripped into pieces thinking about what life had dealt us again.
I knew I couldn't stay in that mode for long. I had so many questions, Where was Ava? Where is Zach?, Was Kate able to recover from her injuries? So I reached deep inside of myself and tried to figure it out. With only that phone call, none from Zach or Zach's family, (I tried calling Zach but it only went to voicemail) I was headed to the hospital my mom said Miami Valley Hospital. First I had to find the address of the hospital. I got on the Internet well they have two locations so I called the hospital and they told me that they didn't have a Kate Bowles and did not admit an airplane crash victim and I should try the other location. So I did and they also did not have any one admitted by that name. I just wanted to get in the car to get to my sister. I was beginning to think that this was just a cruel joke. I knew it was a Warren County accident so I called the Warren County troopers and they confirmed that she was transported to Miami Valley Hospital. I know what you might be thinking but I am horrible with directions and the last thing I needed was to be headed in the wrong direction so I called Miami Valley Hospital back and assured her that the trooper that was at the scene said my sister was transported to that location by Care flight. She took some time and said oh yes she is here, she is listed as unidentified. I asked does that mean she has passed away and she confirmed with a "yes". I went into panic and my family was in tears as they were crowded around me waiting to hear any news. All of a sudden she said hold please, really oh my goodness what is going on. A few seconds later a nurse came on the line and at first had to reassure me that Kate was not only there but also was ALIVE but not doing well. I assured her that that was my sister, Katherine Bowles, and that me and my family would be there as fast as we could. Finally, I knew where she was and a calmness hit me because I looked into my families faces who were intently staring at me and I knew I once again had to be the strong, confident person that I could be to drive myself to the hospital safely to be able to get to Kate and then back home to them. I drove, I cried and most certainly I prayed.
Me and my sister, Sandy made it there first. Kate was one of four people on the plane and was the most critical. Her injuries astounded us she had a broken pelvis, broken arm, broken hand, broken ribs, lacerated liver and spleen, shearing head trauma with bleeding in the brain. The accident happened around 4:00p.m. why were we notified almost four hours later? Why was my sister all alone? I was mortified that my sister had to endure those first four hours by herself. Needless to say she was placed into an induced coma. I immediately went to her bedside shocked by the tubes, shocked by the immobility, shocked by the dirt and tree limb pieces in her hair and ears and told her to come back to us that we needed her, Ava needed her. I told her it was okay if she saw dad but she couldn't stay with him she needed to come back and fight, fight for Ava. I then begged and pleaded to my father to send her back that it wasn't her time to go yet. At this point my mom is signing all the paperwork that is needed and Kate is in good hands now I focus on  Where is Ava?
We had a plan a chaotic plan. My mom would stay twenty four hours with Kate, Sandy would go back and forth to the hospital and Ava would stay with me. If you could take one thing away from our experience in this tragedy is that everyone needs an emergency plan especially if you have young children. We will outline one we wish we had in our next post.

Seconds That Change

      What I thought would be a pleasant holiday excursion turned into my worst nightmare. I have limited memories of what actually happened.  The first memory I had was breastfeeding Ava, my eighteen month old, at the airport. Happy times I felt so blessed. The next was me waking up in restraints and not knowing why I was restrained or even where I was. Further reinforcing that it only takes seconds to change. A vivid memory I had was actually trying to steal the key that unlocks the restraints so I could get out of there. But wait I didn't even know where I was or how I got there. Then the next memory I had was being in an ambulance. I didn't know at the time but I was being transferred from the primary hospital to a rehabilitation hospital. Wait what happened?  What day is this? Now my brain was finally piecing events together.  I was in an airplane accident with my husband and two brother in laws on December 28, 2011. The seat I was in if your are standing looking at the front plane I was on the left front,  the twisted seat pictured above. My days used to be filled with my wonderful toddler and now were filled with pain, confusion and therapy.
I was blessed to have a family that dropped everything to take care of me and my family.  I didn't know at the time but my mom never left my bedside.  She would even wait to take showers until another family member got there so I would never be left alone.  My sister Sandi, a RN would go through my medical status everyday and keep a watchful eye on the hospital staff and be the communicator to the family for all of my progress or setbacks.  My sister Jeanne quit her job to care for my daughter full time.
I looked forward to the days where I was told my daughter would be visiting pushing through the pain and confusion just to get a glimpse of that beautiful face. They told me I could be in rehab for up to a year but with my hard work and dedication I was able to be released in just two short weeks. The therapists said that their fastest recovering patients are those with small children.  I definitely wanted to be home with my daughter. Then reality set in when I realized the difficulty I still had in store for me.  At this point my arm and pelvis were still healing so just walking to the corner of the street and/or picking up Ava was pretty much out of the question.  I had to use a walker, wheelchair and handicapped accessible bathroom items. Oh but I wasn't going to give up and even if I wanted to my sister wouldn't let me. We did physical therapy almost everyday so I could once again hold my daughter in my arms.
I thought planes were safe but never researched the difference between commercial planes and small personal ones like the one I would be on. In 2004 there were 2,339 plane accidents and of that only 39 were commercial. In small plane crashes 85% is pilot error vs commercial which is just under 40%. I had an angel on my shoulder or actually should I say gliding the plane to where we crashed.  It was in an ER doctor's backyard right in between trees and a barn.  The first miracle was the plane didn't veer 10 feet in either direction or I wouldn't be here today. The next miracle was truly unbelievable in that the ER doctor was home that day and saw the crash and sprinted into action to save my life.  He left his young family at the door and rushed to a burning plane just to see if he could help.  The third miracle yes I don't know why I was blessed to have a third miracle but the Careflight Crew for Miami Valley Hospital are stationed at the Warren County Airport which was the area where we crashed and I was in route and at the Hospital within nine minutes of the accident.  Due to all of these miracles is why I am here today and sharing my story with others.
      After weeks in the hospital, months in therapy and even more months with fatigue, headaches and depression  I've learned how things can change from tragedy to a beautiful life. In future posts me and my sister want to talk about the tips and tricks that can help you, not just those with a brain injury or someone that has been in an accident but also just people who want to have a meaningful positive life. Every day hold every moment, every second precious.