After Two Decades of Silence, She Began Talking..........

I wrestled with what to write about today, as I do everyday. I was going to do a funny little thing poking fun at myself- referring to Valentine’s Day as “Single Awareness Day.” It’s just a GREAT day out of the year to remind all of us single folks how pathetically lonely we are. I also thought about just sharing a lot of awesome pictures of my family…….sharing my heart, so to speak. Then I thought about some stories about our troops, remembering them on this day; hard to pity yourself for being lonely when you think about what their day must be like!

When I found THIS story, I knew it was perfect for Valentine’s Day. It is story of LOVE; the kind of LOVE that transcends ALL reason, ALL logic, and ALL things of the physical realm. THIS is a story of hope, commitment, and spirit………………….

Brain-Damaged Woman Talks After 20 Years

- For 20 years, Sarah Scantlin has been mostly oblivious to the world around her - the victim of a drunken driver who struck her down as she walked to her car. Today, after a remarkable recovery, she can talk again.

"I am astonished how primal communication is. It is a key element of humanity," Jim Scantlin said, blinking back tears. Sarah Scantlin was an 18-year-old college freshman on Sept. 22, 1984, when she was hit by a drunk driver as she walked to her car after celebrating with friends at a teen club. That week, she had been hired at an upscale clothing store and won a spot on the drill team at Hutchinson Community College. After two decades of silence, she began talking last month. Doctors are not sure why.

The breakthrough came when the nursing home's activity director, Pat Rincon, was
working with Scantlin and a small group of other patients, trying to get them to
speak. Rincon had her back to Scantlin while she worked with another
resident. She had just gotten that resident to reply "OK," when she suddenly
heard Sarah behind her also repeat the words: "OK. OK."

Staff members brought in a speech therapist and intensified their work with Sarah. They did not want to get her parents' hopes up until they were sure Sarah would not
relapse, Trammell said.

A week ago, her parents got a call from Jennifer Trammell, a licensed nurse at the Golden Plains Health Care Center. She asked Betsy Scantlin if she was sitting down, told her someone wanted to talk to her and switched the phone to speaker mode:

"Hi, Mom."
"Sarah, is that you?" her mother asked.
"Yes," came the throaty reply.
"How are you doing?"
"Fine."
"Do you need anything," her mother asked her later.
"More makeup."

Family members say Scantlin's understanding of the outside world comes mostly from news and soap operas that played on the television in her room.

On Saturday, her brother asked whether she knew what a CD was. Sarah said she did, and she knew it had music on it.

Scantlin still suffers constantly from the effects of the accident. She habitually crosses her arms across her chest, her fists clenched under her chin. Her legs constantly spasm and thrash. Her right foot is so twisted it is almost reversed. Her neck muscles are so constricted she cannot swallow to eat.

Imagine this young lady and her family not having this miracle due to societie's ever growing acceptance of embracing the "quality of life" theme. Even if Sarah were to pass tomorrow. These magical few days were still possible. I cannot express enough how truly valuable this is. Even 20 years of a "coma" could never negate the beauty of these days of full conscienceness. NEVER! Why is society moving steadily closer to devalue life?

I am a strong believer in "QUALITY of LIFE." I believe each life has a lesson for others. I am sure that Sarah's life in the last 20 years has taught more about the lessons of love, dedication, and giving of oursleves than many of us EVER will be able to teach anyone in our own lives. In fact, I believe that QUALITY of life is not what we get out of it, but we give of it; what our life adds to the quality of others.

Please read the entire story. I finally decided upon this story today for two other reasons. 1) This story reminds me so much of Terri Schindler-Schiavo; another woman also in a coma. (who's husband is trying to legally starve her to death so he can marry his live-in fiance that he has already had two children with.) 2) "The driver who struck Scantlin served six months in jail for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident." (quote from the full story)

On this day of love and affection, take a moment to think of what love is truly all about. Think about what each of us has to give. This is the definition of our QUALITY OF LIFE. Most of us by now have discovered that we can't "Save the World." What we can do is affect our own world. We can reach out a little bit. We can get involved. We CAN make a difference. We can love.
As I have done in other posts, I will end with this quote:

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for a good man to do nothing.
Edmund Burke

(I hope you take a moment to view the next two posts below)