Monique Kelley Road to Recovery
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On January 8th, 2018 I woke up in my two younger brothers' home with the harsh realization that one of them was not there. I had driven from my home in Bend, Or to visit my youngest brother where he shared a home and business with the eldest of the two in Ashland, Or. The eldest, Kevin Anthony Mayo was slain just three weeks prior in a road rage incident. My parents had also come from my hometown in Brookings, Or for my father to have a portrait in memorial of my brother tattooed on his chest.
I got up off my brothers couch where I had been asleep and put my 5 year old son Kamden in the backseat while I packed the car for the trip back home to Bend. I reluctantly got behind the wheel, with his nagging feeling telling me that I would get into a wreck and be the next to go. The feeling was so persistent that I decided to show my son how to dial 911 from my phone in the event that we did wreck and "Momma couldn't talk or move."
Call it a premonition.
I stopped at my brothers business to say goodbye, and GPSd my route. Maps told me to go a way different from my normal route, but after checking the roads I decided to go ahead. An hour into my drive, I hit a patch of black ice and lost control. I remember sliding across all three lanes back and forth. No four wheel drive was going to help me, I knew right away what was about to happen.
White.
I woke up to the sound of my sons voice. My head was buried in snow and dirt... and glass. He was standing in front of me, outside of the vehicle, completely unharmed. I was so disoriented but completely calm and coherent. I told him, "Kamden, sweet baby you have to go in the front seat and find Momma's phone and do what I taught you.” I watched him go to the front seat, a tree was blocking my view. At the time I didn’t realize the car was upside down as I lay half way out the rear driver side window. I heard him with panic in his voice, “I can’t find it.” It was lost in the chaos of the wreckage.
I decided at that moment that it was up to me to get myself out. I pushed myself up with my arms, planking myself. Something was stuck up under my sternum, anchoring me to the vehicle. I was pinned underneath an upside down SUV, partially ejected. I thought, ‘There must be a way to crawl out of this mess.’ At this point, I thought for sure everything was going to be okay. As a safeguard I told Kamden to back away from the car and stay where I could see him, away from the road. My son had escaped without a scratch. I didn’t appear to be hurt, I wasn’t feeling any pain. After failing to push myself on anything with my feet, I reached my hand down into the car to grab my right leg to see if it was stuck. No luck, couldn’t find it. I turned to my left and see my left leg conveniently residing right in plain sight. I went to grab my knee in an attempt to reposition when I discovered it was lifeless. I couldn’t feel my hand touching it. I was certain that was it.
My premonition came true.
I knew I had to conserve my energy so I told my son to stay where he was as I lay my head back in the snow and called out for help.
Black.
I woke up to a hand gripping my shoulder from the driver seat window. I can’t see him, the tree is blocking my view. I reach out. He grabs my hand and tells me to squeeze. I say, “Please, you have to call my mom. I’m dying.” He tells me his phone is in his car and he can’t leave me. I tell him about my brother, and ask him to tell my parents that I am sorry, that I love them so much. He says, “You are going to have to tell them yourself, we are going to get you out of here.” I closed my eyes and rested as he held my hand, periodically telling me to squeeze it.
I’m fading.
Jaws of Life come in. The window frame starts moving. Me and the car are going with it. “Stop stop stop stop stop!” A woman’s voice shouts. I was folded in half and about to be separated. The machine was able to open the frame a couple of inches. A blanket was laid out before me. I reached my arms out and was pulled gently from the vehicle. Riding in the ambulance all I could see was red. I turned to the paramedic, “Please can you call my mom.” She tells me she can’t because she has to take my vitals. “Am I going to die?” I ask. “I don’t know yet.” She begins. I tell her about my brother, I tell her “My mom would want to talk to me, please.” She takes the number and hands me the phone. I tell my mom that I am paralyzed. I tell her that I am so sorry. The paramedic takes the phone. It wouldn’t be until later that I learned what else took place.
My memory is fragmented beyond that point. As luck would have it, a former coworker of mine felt compelled to visit with me at the hospital. As I told her the story I have shared here, she asked me if the paramedic was blonde. I hadn’t a clue. My friend says, “I think maybe that was my friend Anita, she’s a paramedic in that county.” So she calls her friend and she was right! Anita and I talked for a bit. She pieces together the rest of what happened. She tells me that I told her I was going to be with my brother, Kevin. And the moment the words left my mouth, my blood pressure dropped and I was clinically dead upon arrival to the hospital.
What happened after is still foggy. I remember my clothes being cut, my piercings being removed. My youngest brother showed up to take my son. I could hear arguing over whether to send my parents to that hospital or the one in Portland where they were trying to life flight me. I would learn later that they were unsure on if I was going to make it due to my blood pressure falling. I died 3 times by the time I made it out of surgery.
But hey y’all, I’m alive!
I suffered from a T7 burst fracture of the spine. I have a rod fused from T5-T9. Multiple rib fractures, concussion, and more. I am paralyzed from the chest down. My injuries have created a new normal. I can no longer use my legs, I have no trunk control. I have to use adaptive equipment and assistance to do simple things such as go to the bathroom, wash my hair, etcetera. After spending 2 months in the hospital and several hard months out, I have relocated to the city where I can be closer to the best physical therapy and most advanced medical treatments. I could have never imagined all of the things I would need to aide in my recovery. The amount of support I have received from all over is nothing short of amazing.
This has been a very humbling experience and I want to sincerely thank all of those who are out there rooting for me. I am forever grateful. This fund will go towards obtaining a Functional Electrical Stimulation bike to help restore muscle loss and improve sensation. The results would be improvement in my quality of life and possible return in function, the medical staff have not ruled out possibility of me walking again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to share my story.
Yours Forever,
Monique
I got up off my brothers couch where I had been asleep and put my 5 year old son Kamden in the backseat while I packed the car for the trip back home to Bend. I reluctantly got behind the wheel, with his nagging feeling telling me that I would get into a wreck and be the next to go. The feeling was so persistent that I decided to show my son how to dial 911 from my phone in the event that we did wreck and "Momma couldn't talk or move."
Call it a premonition.
I stopped at my brothers business to say goodbye, and GPSd my route. Maps told me to go a way different from my normal route, but after checking the roads I decided to go ahead. An hour into my drive, I hit a patch of black ice and lost control. I remember sliding across all three lanes back and forth. No four wheel drive was going to help me, I knew right away what was about to happen.
White.
I woke up to the sound of my sons voice. My head was buried in snow and dirt... and glass. He was standing in front of me, outside of the vehicle, completely unharmed. I was so disoriented but completely calm and coherent. I told him, "Kamden, sweet baby you have to go in the front seat and find Momma's phone and do what I taught you.” I watched him go to the front seat, a tree was blocking my view. At the time I didn’t realize the car was upside down as I lay half way out the rear driver side window. I heard him with panic in his voice, “I can’t find it.” It was lost in the chaos of the wreckage.
I decided at that moment that it was up to me to get myself out. I pushed myself up with my arms, planking myself. Something was stuck up under my sternum, anchoring me to the vehicle. I was pinned underneath an upside down SUV, partially ejected. I thought, ‘There must be a way to crawl out of this mess.’ At this point, I thought for sure everything was going to be okay. As a safeguard I told Kamden to back away from the car and stay where I could see him, away from the road. My son had escaped without a scratch. I didn’t appear to be hurt, I wasn’t feeling any pain. After failing to push myself on anything with my feet, I reached my hand down into the car to grab my right leg to see if it was stuck. No luck, couldn’t find it. I turned to my left and see my left leg conveniently residing right in plain sight. I went to grab my knee in an attempt to reposition when I discovered it was lifeless. I couldn’t feel my hand touching it. I was certain that was it.
My premonition came true.
I knew I had to conserve my energy so I told my son to stay where he was as I lay my head back in the snow and called out for help.
Black.
I woke up to a hand gripping my shoulder from the driver seat window. I can’t see him, the tree is blocking my view. I reach out. He grabs my hand and tells me to squeeze. I say, “Please, you have to call my mom. I’m dying.” He tells me his phone is in his car and he can’t leave me. I tell him about my brother, and ask him to tell my parents that I am sorry, that I love them so much. He says, “You are going to have to tell them yourself, we are going to get you out of here.” I closed my eyes and rested as he held my hand, periodically telling me to squeeze it.
I’m fading.
Jaws of Life come in. The window frame starts moving. Me and the car are going with it. “Stop stop stop stop stop!” A woman’s voice shouts. I was folded in half and about to be separated. The machine was able to open the frame a couple of inches. A blanket was laid out before me. I reached my arms out and was pulled gently from the vehicle. Riding in the ambulance all I could see was red. I turned to the paramedic, “Please can you call my mom.” She tells me she can’t because she has to take my vitals. “Am I going to die?” I ask. “I don’t know yet.” She begins. I tell her about my brother, I tell her “My mom would want to talk to me, please.” She takes the number and hands me the phone. I tell my mom that I am paralyzed. I tell her that I am so sorry. The paramedic takes the phone. It wouldn’t be until later that I learned what else took place.
My memory is fragmented beyond that point. As luck would have it, a former coworker of mine felt compelled to visit with me at the hospital. As I told her the story I have shared here, she asked me if the paramedic was blonde. I hadn’t a clue. My friend says, “I think maybe that was my friend Anita, she’s a paramedic in that county.” So she calls her friend and she was right! Anita and I talked for a bit. She pieces together the rest of what happened. She tells me that I told her I was going to be with my brother, Kevin. And the moment the words left my mouth, my blood pressure dropped and I was clinically dead upon arrival to the hospital.
What happened after is still foggy. I remember my clothes being cut, my piercings being removed. My youngest brother showed up to take my son. I could hear arguing over whether to send my parents to that hospital or the one in Portland where they were trying to life flight me. I would learn later that they were unsure on if I was going to make it due to my blood pressure falling. I died 3 times by the time I made it out of surgery.
But hey y’all, I’m alive!
I suffered from a T7 burst fracture of the spine. I have a rod fused from T5-T9. Multiple rib fractures, concussion, and more. I am paralyzed from the chest down. My injuries have created a new normal. I can no longer use my legs, I have no trunk control. I have to use adaptive equipment and assistance to do simple things such as go to the bathroom, wash my hair, etcetera. After spending 2 months in the hospital and several hard months out, I have relocated to the city where I can be closer to the best physical therapy and most advanced medical treatments. I could have never imagined all of the things I would need to aide in my recovery. The amount of support I have received from all over is nothing short of amazing.
This has been a very humbling experience and I want to sincerely thank all of those who are out there rooting for me. I am forever grateful. This fund will go towards obtaining a Functional Electrical Stimulation bike to help restore muscle loss and improve sensation. The results would be improvement in my quality of life and possible return in function, the medical staff have not ruled out possibility of me walking again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to share my story.
Yours Forever,
Monique
Organizer
Monique Kelley
Organizer
Portland, OR
