Pedestrian Survival stories

Addi is the face and reason that Addi's Miracle and Survivors Against Distracted Driving exists. She was 4 years old when she was out looking at Christmas lights with her Daddy and 2 of her older Brothers on December 20th, 2022. Excited to return and tell Mommy what she was able to see and talk about her updated Santa list, she was struck by a distracted driver. The impact sent her flying 100 feet, stopping at the impact of a curb. The accident impact had stopped her heart. A near by surgical PA ran to the scene and started CPR. The accident caused Addi to have a broken neck at the C1 and C2, a fractured skull and a Diffuse axonal TBI. Once she was able to come off life support and wake up enough they were able test her at a grade 3. Her survival rate was 0.07%. The photo above is of Addi in acute inpatient rehab at Phoenix Children's Hospital using a machine in Physical Therapy to relearn how to walk. She had to relearn tasks that we all take for granted on a daily basis. Walking, showering, brushing teeth, chewing and swallowing without choking ,drinking out of a cup. To this day she still prefers to use a straw because she chokes less. Physically Addi lives with minimal visible  injuries., but deals with frequent headaches, arm, leg and back pain. Most of her current struggles are cognitive. She still has weekly speech and deals with immediate recall issues, short term memory issues, work finding and word placing. TBI's never go away, this is something that Addi will deal with for the rest of her life. She is a champ. Even at 6 years old she hates the word "Victim", she is a survivor.  For anyone that would like to watch and be a part of Addi's journey, there is a Facebook group titled "Addi's Miracle." There is also a link on this website to "Raising Addi", a blog written by Mom about Raising a child with a TBI; Addi's miracle but through Mom's eyes.