Sydney’s Journey To Walk Again

June 2nd 2019 turned my sister’s life upside down.  Our family went for what was to be a fun boat outing on our Pontoon, but turned into the most devastating day of Sydney’s life.

She was in a tragic tubing accident behind our family boat. Sydney flipped off the tube and when she landed her back was in severe pain, and she had no feeling from her belly button down.

We turned the boat around as fast as possible, not knowing yet at that point in time, she was injured.  As the boat pulled beside her, we heard her screaming “my back, my back, I can’t feel my legs”.  My mom and I jumped in the water immediately, and got her to the ladder.

We called 911 as she lay in the boat repeating “please God, please God, just let me live for my babies.”  Sydney knew she had to keep it together since she didn’t want to upset her two children, her son being two years of age, and her daughter only eight months old.  They were with us for what was supposed to be a day of family fun.

As we started back to the dock, we could see the amount of pain on her face with every little bump, and move the boat made which created another tear down her cheek.  It was extremely difficult to watch. 

Emergency vehicles were waiting for us when we arrived.  Sydney’s concerns were for her children above her own, as she told me “get my kids as far away from here as you can.”  She didn’t want them to hear her screaming or see their mommy in pain. 

I took them over to look at the fire truck and ambulance, to try to keep them occupied.  As far as they knew mommy had a booboo and had to go see the doctor.

Emergency Services called for the Nightingale to air lift her out of Virginia Beach to Norfolk General Hospital.  EMS realized quickly that the Nightingale was delayed in Norfolk, and had to make the decision to drive her to Virginia Beach General instead.  Any extra delay of time would not be good for her recovery since they could not find a pulse in her legs.

When I finally was able to see her at the hospital, she grabbed my hand with tears in her eyes, and told me her back was broke, her T12 Vertebrae was shattered and shards of bone were compressing her Spinal Cord and she was going into surgery immediately. The surgeon placed two rods and eight screws to fuse her back back together, it was a 5 hour surgery. It took 34 stitches to cover it all back up.

She was in ICU for 4 days, 2 days in the ICU Step Down, and in the ortho wing since then.  She is now faced with deciding on a rehab facility that is not in our area that she will have to live for an unknown period of time.  There is no Spinal Cord Injury Specialist in the Hampton Roads area, so she will be at least 2 hours away from her family to get the specialized care she needs/requires.

Sydney hopes to regain feeling in her legs and be able to one day walk again.  She wants to be able to take care of herself, but most of all she wants to be able to take care of her husband and her two  babies, which are the most important thing to her. 

Sydney is a very private person and will never ask anyone for help.  This is so overwhelming for our entire family, and we don’t know what her chances of walking again will be.  We are hoping with enough amazing doctors, hard work,  and prayers that will happen for her.

I am setting up this account to try to help relieve some of my sister’s stress.  She worries over everything on a normal day, and this injury has added a lot of anxiety and sadness to her as well.

I invite everyone to follow Sydney’s journey to recovery.  Please keep Sydney and our entire family in your thoughts and prayers, through her long journey ahead.