Madi’s Road to Recovery

Hi,

I'm a friend of Joy’s and want to share their journey and help them cover their endless medical expenses as Madi recovers physically and emotionally. Please read their story below:

Joy (Madi’s mom’s) original post from November 1st:

For those of you that don't already know, Madi was involved in a horrific car accident this past weekend (10/30). She was on her way home to Sugar Land (from Austin) to surprise us with a quick visit since two of her friends were coming back to Houston to visit their families. The car lost control on Hwy 71 near the Fayette/La Grange area and veered off to the grass side of the road and took a leap but eventually endured a direct frontal impact upon landing and was engulfed in flames.

Sadly, the two friends in the front seat did not make it. We are absolutely devastated and words cannot describe the void felt with the loss of these two beautiful souls. Please keep these two young men's families in your prayers. They were both 19-year old students at UT Austin.

The car landed into the bottom of a creek and Madi managed to escape. We are thankful to the Good Samaritans that attended to her before emergency crews could arrive on the scene. One was a Registered Nurse.

She was airlifted to St. David's South Hospital in Austin. Madi is in stable condition, but she suffered multiple fractures throughout her body including the neck, spine, sternum, clavicle, hand, arm, and elbow. She has a long road to recovery but thankfully no major organs have major failure. She does have a minor left collapsed lung that is expected to heal in due time.

Today we received some glimmer of hope. She will not be needing neck or back surgery. Those fractures are expected to auto-heal which is a miracle in itself. She will need to wear a back brace for 2-3 months though. In all of this we are faithful that God will carry us through. We are acknowledging God our Father for these answered prayers one victory at a time.

She is receiving surgery today at 5:30 pm (delayed again) for her elbow, wrist, and hand fractures.

She is broken and bruised and has a long recovery ahead, but we are thankful she survived. Please pray for her mentally as the loss of her two friends is emotionally much to bear.

Please keep all of us in your prayers. Your prayers are felt and very much appreciated.

11/2/21 Madi Update 11 pm

The surgery went well. They worked on her ulna and radius and redacted the elbow. She had some ligament tear in the wrist area so had to have two metal plates placed but those will be removed later without additional surgery.

Today was a difficult day. Day 1 of OT and PT and she was in a lot of pain and agony. With assistance, she did manage to sit up on the side of the bed, take some baby steps, and sit in a chair. She was very discouraged and felt defeated today, but we will try again tomorrow.

On the upside, I’m thankful for my siblings (Dayne Wong, Mark Dong, Sharon Dong) for making a visit. It was good “medicine.”

11/3/21 Madi Update- 10 pm

Madi woke up at 3 am this morning and was completely overcome with sadness for the loss of her two friends. Her vivid memory of the entire scene might be our biggest obstacle yet.

I began reading to ease her anxiety. A pastor called me the day before and offered to give me a chapter out of a book he authored about restoring hope. I’ve never met this pastor, but his story related to her on so many levels. After I finished reading she closed her eyes and went to sleep from 4-9 am. That was her best sleep yet!

In addition, we got some disturbing news about fluid in her chest area resulting from the accident. It is common for fluids to accumulate as a direct result of impact. Sometimes the body gets rid of it and other times it needs to be drained via a tube. So they took x-rays and did an ultra sound today. We should know more info tomorrow.

Day 2 of PT- They increased her PT to twice a day. It was a little set-back in progress today as she had big expectations of walking more but dizziness and nauseousness got the best of her. So, we will try again tomorrow.

Thank you all for the continued prayers.

11/4/21 Madi Update- 10:45 pm

The night was long as Madi didn't sleep much in anticipation of her minor procedure. The arteries under the two fractured ribs had some bleeding. The respiratory PA briefed us that the fluid in her chest wall cavity had not decreased so they are proceeding with inserting a small tube to drain it. The dr. decided to put her under anesthesia because of her current anxiety level. Her drainage levels need to be maintained below 100 ml before the tube can be removed.

Thank you all for the calls, texts, messages, meals, gifts, and the showering of love on our family. We are grateful for all of you. Also just fyi, Madi's phone and laptop were lost in the fire. She has a different phone now, but the contacts have not been restored. Her left-hand typing is a challenge, but she appreciates all the get-well wishes and prayers.

11/5/21 Madi Update-10:50 pm

The pain in the right arm is still quite unbearable at times even with medication. The struggle of finding the sweet spot in keeping the arm comfortable is challenging. Despite all the pain, today was a good day.

Madi set goals for PT today. She hoped to walk to the sink, wash her face, brush her teeth, and take a stroll outside. These were ambitious goals from a girl who had barely made it to the sink one time thus far. She crushed all of her goals except one. Her nurse wouldn’t allow her to walk outside because of her attached drainage tube but she did manage to do a short walk in the hallway.

The drain volume is right on track in the desired ballpark range (<100 ml) for the day. She will get some chest x-rays at 4 am and if all goes well, her drain tube can be removed tomorrow.

To those of you showering Madi with extra love today, thank you!! Her spirits were lifted, and it was good to see her smile again.

11/6/21 Madi Update-11:55 pm

The day was an emotional roller coaster ride. It started off with bad news of another fracture in the humour area near the right shoulder. While examining the chest x-rays to determine if her fluids were clear enough to remove her drain tube, they happened to catch a segment of her arm that didn’t quite look right. After taking an arm x-ray, it was confirmed it was indeed a fracture. When patients come into the ER, they only scan and x-ray vital organs and not necessarily extremities unless they are obviously injured.

She didn’t take the fracture news well. The only thing i could think of was to show her a get-well video compiled by her dear friend (Sydney KH). She was overcome with tears of love and appreciation. Friends all over the country sent her wishes for a speedy recovery. Thank you to everyone who took the time to wish her well. It is such a priceless gift she will cherish forever.

Another bright spot was when she got the green light for her drain tube to be removed.

She had numerous good visits from her uncle, her close childhood friends she considers as brothers, aunt, Sam, and her bf. (We totally exceeded the visitor limit but it was good to see her in better spirits.)

The day ended with more walking around the floor with partial assistance for support. We are so proud of her for hitting her PT milestones and hope for discharge news soon.

11/7/21 Madi Update- 11:45 pm

Well it’s been the longest, hardest, most heart-wrenching eight days for us to endure, but we got dischaged orders from the hospital today! I am staying in Austin with her for the time being as all her follow-up visits and rehab are here locally. It will be a long road to recovery but we will take it one day at a time.

This will be my last daily update for now. Thank you for lifting us up in prayers and interceding for us during this difficult time. Please continue to pray for us as we navigate these unknown waters. Pray for quick healing, patience, wisdom, and pain relief. Thank you, again!!

As of today, Nov 11th the Ang’s first of many medical bill arrived, a $70,000 helicopter ride. Please continued to pray for their healing and consider making a donation to help offset their cost of medical bills and travel expenses back and forth between Austin and Sugar Land.