It is astounding how much damage was done, yet how worse it could have been. She broke her jaw in 3 places. The lower jaw punctured her upper palette. She broke her orbits and cheek bones. Broke her nose and had a 4 inch gash on her forehead. And she broke one of her vertebrae.
The last I saw of her that night was the ambulance driving off into the night. Then we walked the accident site with the police as we ...oh...looked for her teeth. There is some hope that busted teeth can be re-implanted. ( we didn't find any and it turns out she didn't lose but a few )
Anyway, she is a trooper. Which I have always known but she has proven it all the same. And she is making a remarkable recovery. It brings me to tears to think about it. My wife has been more than upset by the whole thing. After her accident she has a deep empathy for this in others.
When I did get to see Claire in the hospital the first thing she did was point at her head and give me the thumbs up. Her mouth is wired shut and she had a tracheotomy so she can't talk. But she wanted me to know she was fully in charge of her mind.
She has a long recovery but you can tell that she will overcome and be stronger. It is in her make-up.
