Foo - My friend broke her neck

Please see my new signature, and if you can, help even a little, it will be so much appreciated.

My friend Tacos (nickname for Satoko) fell asleep at the wheel and wrecked her car, breaking her neck. (No she wasn't drinking, she doesn't at all.) She is in her early 30's and one of the most active, psyched and positive people around. She's been on the 'dirtbag' climbing circuit for the last few years, living in a tent and more recently (:() in her car, in rock climbing areas across the US and Canada. She and my boyfriend have done some amazing climbing together - I know her as my houseguest and camp buddy, she is soooo psyched and friendly and always has a smile.

She's currently in the hospital in Casper WY, where she knows no one. She has a little feeling in her arms and legs and is now breathing better, but just to get home to her family in Japan she'll need 2 full time caregivers to fly with her.

Send some positive energy, a prayer if you do that, or some money if you can spare a little.

OMG. Sending good thoughts and positive karma to Satoko-san!!! I'll try to help when I can. :hug:

:(

I don't drink and drive, I don't even talk on the phone and drive. But sometimes I'm really bad about driving while tired. It's a horrifying experience, especially in advanced stages.

I'm very sorry to hear about your friend, and hope for nothing but the best in her recovery.

prayers....and when I get the chane, I will go to one of those links.

Wow - that's too bad! :( Hope she has a speedy and FULL recovery!

Thanks everyone. My boyfriend is going to visit her today, so at least she'll have a little relief from the boredom. I can't even imagine.... :(

Your friend is in my prayers. I'm so sorry to hear this.

Couch

my best wishes to your friend.

Since it sounds as if she is a Japanese citizen, I hope that social work at the hospital has contacted the Japanese consulate in San Francisco to see what can be done to repatriate their citizen back home. I have discovered that some countries with national health systems will do medical evacuations of their citizens via air ambulance, commercial flights or other appropriate means.

Thanks all.

MillCreek, I don't know the details at this point, but my boyfriend will be up there in a few hours and I'll pass your comments along to him.

Best wishes to her, I hope she heals up well and quickly.

Good luck to her. I hope everything works out.

I'm going to sticky this thread. I am praying for Tacos and hoping for her speedy recovery.

Thank you Siu, thank you kaotikgrl, thank you all. I'm so moved. My friend can use all the positive vibes she can get.

valygrl, so sorry to hear about your friend. please send updates as you can, I'll be thinking about her!

Thanks everyone.
Here's Tacos on top of a desert tower last month,
picture by my boyfriend, who climbed it with her:

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6295/spring09whiterim315.jpg

Any progress?

Her attitude and spirit will get her through this. She clearly is a determined and driven person.

Stan

My prayers are hers.

So sorry to hear, all my best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

If it helps...

My brother broke his neck in a car accident many years ago. No nerve or spinal cord damage (thank God!). He spent a week in traction to re-align his neck He ended up having three vertebrae permanently clamped and fused together with bone from his hip. He spent several months in a halo. It was a harrowing experience for all of us. To listen to him tell the story (which he does NOT like to do) is terrifying.

Now, he is maybe a tiny bit shorter thank he would have been, can't turn his head quite as far as he once could, lives with some stiffness and pain, and has a wicked 10 inch scar down the back of his neck. Otherwise, he's pretty much normal. You'd really never know unless you saw the scar.

Not sure whether that helps or makes you more frightened. I tell the story to let you know that one can recover very well from a broken neck. I'm sure my brother will have some arthritis when he gets older. He had the accident at the age of 19 and He's 35 now. Aside from the aforementioned stiffness and some pain, he lives a perfectly normal life.

Thanks msincredible, thanks for sharing your brother's story, sneefy.

Tacos, unfortunately, does have some kind of spinal cord damage, the extent of which remains to be seen. She's is remaining very positive and not talking about the possibilities, just focusing on what she can do now to get better, which is start physical therapy as soon as she can.

The climbing gym in Casper WY is donating all their day-pass proceeds and membership fees until next Tuesday to help Tacos fly home. THANK YOU!!!

The climbing gym in Casper WY is donating all their day-pass proceeds and membership fees until next Tuesday to help Tacos fly home. THANK YOU!!!

Hoping that her spirits are uplifted by knowing so many friends and strangers are letting her know that they care and are coming to her aid with empathy sans any motivation. I think it must also speak to her unique ability to engage the climbers that have met her in a way that inspired them by her will in climbing and now to heal. She certainly is the kind of woman who deserves the kindness and support she is receiving :thumb:

Thoughts and payers on the way. Had to fight off the drowsy's myself today. It can be quite scary.

Thanks USAZorro -- be careful, your life can change in an instant. :(

Thanks USAZorro -- be careful, your life can change in an instant. :(

Had no choice but to drive. The soda and a peppier CD took care of things.

Tacos is back in Japan, and in the hospital in Tokyo. I have the hospital address, but that's all I have. I messed up and failed to get a way to contact her and her family after she left the USA. I'm trying to figure it out - absolutely kicking myself for messing this up.

Awesome - glad she made it back. Hopefully being with family and friends will help her heal.

Happy to know she's back in Tokyo! I hope she recovers.

From what I know about Japan, she may be better off to stay here.

i'm praying for her immediate recovery and assistance. have faith.

Update?