News about a fellow Texas ponder

[Roark]

    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

[Mikey]

What a devastating fall.  I don't believe I know Melissa but certainly wish her well.

[turtlemike]

  Wow that's horrible.

  Everybody be carefull !

  It's definitly a cautionary tale for me because with all of the chain sawing and horse riding and heavy equipment operating I do and the fact that it could be weeks before someone found me if I was hurt, well you get the idea.

[Kittyzee]

Prayers surrounding her...

[Jerry]

Just awful!  I too did not know her, but prayers are with her.
Life is so fragil. :'(

[Roark]

Update: Saturday, October 9th at 3:00 PM CST

What follows is an update of Melissa's condition reflective of my conversations with her family at 3:00 PM CST on Saturday, October 9th, 2010.

Melissa's condition has improved fairly markedly over the past 24 hours. She is now breathing entirely on her own, is semi-lucid for short periods, and appears to have a certain degree of coarse control over her arm and leg movements. She underwent a procedure to install a PIC line this morning and seemed to tolerate it fairly well.

Today she was reported as having attempted to sit-up twice, which the nursing staff considered utterly remarkable for a person with her degree of injuries. (Personal note: Those who know Melissa would not find this particularly unusual. She is an exceptional fighter in every way).

Her family reports that she is not yet verbal, and does not appear to be oriented in time or place, nor does she understand what has happened to her, or the degree of her injuries. Her family describes her as a "half-lit bulb". A full neurological consult is scheduled for tomorrow or Monday AM with the intent of more fully evaluating her degree of brain functioning and/or impairment.

Missing from my earlier report was a moderate degree of brain swelling, which remains evident today and is a cause for some concern. The doctors are watching this and their current strategy seems to be "wait it out". They report this is not an unexpected development given her injuries.

It would appear that her immediate survival crisis may be somewhat past, however, the doctors are careful to point-out that due to the extensive nature of her injuries, any one of these could cause a sudden and catastrophic decline in her condition. She remains in critical condition and her road home will be long and painful.

Her family has asked me to extend their very heartfelt gratitude to all of her internet friends and supporters. They are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love from this most unexpected quarter. We are relaying the postings from here and elsewhere to them for eventual presentation to Melissa when she is better able to understand.

I will post an update as soon as new information becomes available.

Roark

[Jerry]

Good to hear. it sounds like she is a fighter.  We are all rooting for her .

[LynneNY]

Oh my goodness!  Wishing her the easiest recovery possible in her situation, and strength for her family to guide her through this difficult time.

[Vickie]

I do not know her. But may her and her family come throught this. Prayers here.

[matherfish]

Prayers from here that she may continue to improve and recover to her former condition. Keep us aware of changes.

[bunny56lbc]

OMG...how terrible . Will keep her in my prayer's & thought also .

bonnie

[Indiana Karen]

How tragic,........appreciate the updates, sounds like she is determined.

[miguynmkoi]

Very tragic!  Praying Melissa's condition improves quickly and I wish her family strength through this crisis.

[perplexed ponder]

My family has been a recipient of this kind of support from such an unexpected place. It is REAL.  We will continue to pray for Melissa's full recovery.

[Lynda]

I remember Melissa very well from all the years on KoiVet back in the "day."  She was always beyond helpful and informative, to say nothing of "pithy" in a fun and non-judgemental way.  Just an all-around good person.  She has my thoughts and prayers as she continues to recover.

[Roark]

Update Monday, October 11, 2010 @ 3:00 PM CST

A message left by her family this afternoon indicates that some remarkable progress has been made. Melissa is now sitting-up, is awake/alert/oriented, understands fully what has happened to her, has some limited memory of the injury event itself, and is communicating verbally and appropriately.

In a manner completely characteristic of her "old self", the report indicated Melissa's first concern once the "where am I / what happened" line of questioning was completed, was "WHO THE HECK IS TAKING CARE OF MY ANIMALS!?!?!?!".

What an amazing woman!

We will post more information as it becomes known.

Roark

[Jerry]

 

[Kittyzee]

Awesome!!     You just can't keep a good woman down!  And of COURSE she's gonna want to know who's taking care of her animals!!      

[Desertponder]

Wow, that was a nasty fall. 20 ft is right there in the vicinity of height that you often don't live. Glad to hear she is coming around and improving.