It is with sadness that I report that our good friend and fellow ponder Melissa B was seriously injured on October 7th, 2010.
Many will know Melissa as "ShiroMujiGirl", "MdniteCrow", or simply "Shiro". Melissa is an RN as well as a long-time contributor to many koi forums. She is a friend to many, and a source of wonder and amusement to just about everyone. Her antics with regards to non-traditional koi-keeping and filter experimentation have become the stuff of internet legend. She has been a frequent face at many koi shows. If you are a Texas-based ponder, you've likely met her.
What follows is the entirety of what is presently known about her condition and the circumstances surrounding her accident. This information is current as of 8:45 PM CST October 8th, 2010 and was provided to me by her family.
Details of the events leading up to her injury are sketchy but our current understanding is that Melissa was offloading materials from her pickup truck into a large metal dumpster at an unattended waste-handling facility. This dumpster sat in an earthern pit surrounded by a built-up service drive around it to allow users to slide refuse from their vehicles into the dumpster below. Melissa apparently lost her footing, fell a vertical distance of about 20 feet, and struck the edge of the metal dumpster with her face and head. It is not known how much time elapsed between her injury and the time she was discovered. She was found unconscious and has not regained consciousness since.
Her medical condition, as it is currently known, is as follows:
* Multiple rib fractures
* Fractured arm
* Fractured leg
* Fractured pelvis
* Fractured skull
* Fractured collar bone
* Fractured wrist
* Fractured "eyebone" (assume orbit/zygomatic, but this is speculation)
* A subdural hematoma
* Multiple facial injuries consisting of blunt-trauma and tears/gouges of the skin and muscles.
Melissa's condition is listed as critical and the sum of her injuries are life-threatening. She is comatose, (although it is not clear if this is a medically-induced state or is the result of her injuries). Her doctors are not opining on her chances of survival at this time, nor will they speculate as to her long-term prognosis or degree of recovery.
Her family has asked me to keep her many internet friends informed. I will post additional information on Melissa's progress as it becomes available. In the meantime please join me by keeping Melissa and her family in your thoughts, hearts and prayers. Her future is uncertain and she faces a very long road home.
Roark