Hello. My Name is Brigette Rushton. I am a 17-year-old senior at Ninety Six High School and recently was a patient at Self Regional Healthcare following my automobile accident on December 30, 2007.
On that Sunday morning around 8:30 a.m., I was on the way to First Presbyterian Church where I work in the nursery when my car hydroplaned in the rain and I lost control and wrapped my car around a tree, literally bending it into a V-shape. Immediately I was taken by EMS to Self Regional Healthcare, where it was discovered I had a punctured lung, broken pelvis in three places, six broken bones in my back, a severely lacerated liver, a lacerated spleen, three broken ribs, burns to my hand, and various cuts and abrasions on my body.
I stayed in ICU for a week, and then in a regular room for a week before being transferred here to the Rehabilitation Hospital where I stayed for two weeks. I do not remember very much about my accident; however, I do know that this was a very difficult time for everyone. When I first came to SRH, I was scared and in a lot of pain. I had no idea what to expect as I had never been injured before. I know now that the nurses took very good care of me. Everything they did was for my well-being, even though I didn’t understand why they had to do the things they did. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for god and the wonderful care I received at SRH.
When my accident first happened I had no idea what my future would hold. I was not sure if I would finish school, attend prom, or graduate on time, or when I would be walking, or how long before I would recover.
As of right now, I am just taking it one day at a time. I have therapy twice a week and am continuing to progress and get better. I believe that God truly had a purpose for my life and I can’t wait to see what my future holds.
I plan on graduating June 5th with my class and then going away to college in August. This has been a huge learning experience for me and I have definitely tried to stay positive through it all. I have learned so much and if I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything truly does happen for a reason.
I would like to thank everyone at Self Regional Healthcare for the special care my family and I received during my two-week stay. The staff knew what it took to make my stay as comfortable as possible. Our family was visited by Mrs. Marie Marshall at SRH where we learned about CarePages through the SRH Web site. This was a great way to communicate with family and friends, especially everyone concerned who lived out of town. Each night my mother would update the CarePages of my progress. She was able to read the many inspiring and uplifting messages that people posted for her each day and she could also post pictures of her progress during her hospital stay at SRH and even after her discharge. People constantly told us how convenient and great this page was and how much it meant to them to see the support of so many people during this tragic time in our lives. They let us know they enjoyed the fact that they received an e-mail when my mom posted an update and were able to track my progress on a day to day basis.
FROM BRIGETTE’S MOM, SUZANNE:
SRH and CarePages meant a great deal to Brigette and our family. I would definitely recommend this to any family who has a patient at SRH. It was an easy process, and definitely an encouragement to all of us. If it weren’t for Mrs. Marie Marshall, we would not have known about this wonderful way to share Brigette’s story and progress.
Thank you to everyone at SRH for your support and the CarePage service. We received an overwhelming amount of prayer and support because of it.
