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.
Amie is another pediatric pedestrian survivor. She was walking to school on December 1st 2024 when she was struck by a vehicle that then fled the scene.
Thankfully, the Tempe Police were able to locate the driver who hit Amie, because of the cameras that an apartment complex had facing the street that picked up the impact.
Amie's injuries include but are not limited too her neck, ribs, left leg, and right arm which were broken. Additionally she had to have surgery to remove part of her skull due to brain swelling and she has had to receive a tracheotomy. She was 50 ft from the accident when paramedics arrived.
To this date (Jan 30th,2025) Amie is still unable to walk. She fights daily to regain strength in her muscles. She can read and is able to communicate via an app with her Mom and Medical team. It's amazing that she remembers how to read! It makes communicating with her easier. She still sits in the hospital she arrived too after transferring from the scene of the accident, but will hopefully be able to transfer to rehab soon!
We are SO excited to share that the warrior ROCK PRINCESS Amie is finally back at home after FOUR long months of being in the hospital, surgeries, rehab...She is finally back in the comfort of her own home, with her Mom and Brothers!
Just like the other survivors that I am so lucky to get to know during their journey, I look forward to meeting Amie AND her Mama in person!
Rylei is another Pediatric Pedestrian survivor. Rylei was skateboarding to his girlfriends house on 1/1/25, in a crosswalk when he was struck by a vehicle.
He was thrown 100 feet. From what his Mom was told he began having seizures on the scene. He was transported to one local hospital to be stabilized before he was then taken to PCH, where he remains to this day.
Rylei's injuries were a broken upper arm, a broken leg, fractured skull and he has a severe TBI. He was on life support for 10 days, he woke up on day 11 and had surgery on his arm and leg on day 15. He is now in inpatient rehab where he is learning to walk and better his balance as well as many other things in OT and speech.
Rylei is a tall kiddo! At 14 years of age he stands at 6 feet and has always wanted to be in the NBA. Even in rehab he takes his shots and is watching sports. He is fighting hard for his recovery.
You can stay up to date on how Rylei is doing by going to Facebook and joining "Rylei's Recovery: A Community of Hope and healing."
UPDATE: I wanted to jump online and update those who have followed the journey of Amie and Rylei....Rylei is home now and even back at school part time however he recently was readmitted for an infection in his leg that required surgery, at the same time he was dealing with his vision going black.
Please keep Rylei in your thoughts and prayers as well as his Mom, Dona and his baby Sister.
Good morning Kate,
Go pour you a big cup of coffee. My story is long.
On December 9, 2010 at 11 am I was on my way to finish my grocery shopping. One of the routes that I took was on a county road that has a lot of big rig traffic. I was at a stop light on a very busy intersection. One of the things that my husband taught me is that when I was at a stop light put the car in neutral to put less stress on the transmission. So I was in neutral when I heard the air horn from a semi behind me. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the grill of a semi. Then I felt a sharp pain in my head. . .
I remember someone talking with me and trying to put something around my neck. I was told that I was in an accident and that they needed to take me to the hospital. Now comes the key. . .I kept asking why, why did they do this. In the paramedics mind that is not normal. Most people ask what. That was the deciding factor in me going to a trama center.
I am in and out of consciousness on the ride to Denver General. When I get to the ER I dept asking for someone to call my husband. Giving his number. Now I don't know if this really happened as much as it seemed but, the nurse finally had the pastor call. It took about an hour for my husband to get there. I remember the neurosurgeon and my husband talking about surgery to relieve pressure on my brain. The CAT scan showed that I had a brain bleed.
That day changed my life forever. I was not the person that I used to be. One second I was Gale, the next second I was someone else. I was confused, angry, frightened of everything. Bill and I did not know about brain injuries and brain trama. For the next nine months we dealt with repeated conversations, sudden outbursts of anger, and PTSD when I was in traffic.
When I got the police report to get the driver's insurance information I got to read what she told the police. She was on her 10th load of the day and had been having that kind of schedule since Thanksgiving. She was saving up money for Christmas. She was doing up to 20 loads a day. She was tired. DOT regulations were not followed. (Note: My son is an OTR driver and I have learned a lot about the dos and don'ts of what they can and can't do.) She was going between 45 and 60 miles an hour when she hit me. She hit my three times and finally came to rest on my bumper on the other side of the intersection. God was there, no traffic came thru the light at the time of the accident. There were witnesses. A work crew in the bar ditch heard the sound of the horn and looked up and saw a shower of glass as she hit me. No skid marks to show that she tried to stop.
I hired a lawyer four months later who dealt with semi traffic accidents. All of the testing to prove that I was indeed hurt. I had no external wounds. It was my brain. That needed to be proven was damaged. I learned that it takes five years for the brain to "heal" as much as it will ever heal. So in stages we had to prove this. Two years after the accident I started the cognitive testing to get a baseline. Five years after the accident more cognitive testing and brain scans.
The brain scans showed how much of my brain was damaged beyond repair. To see the blues and blacks on that color scan was scary.
But God stepped in and started to show me His healing. Man was telling me that was damaged and would never be right again. I would not be able to do the things that I could do before the accident. By faith in my Father I took His hand and we walked my path to where I am today.
It started early. On those days when the confusion took over I felt His presence near me. When the panic attacks started I felt His calming presence. When the pain was overbearing I felt His healing hand. (Note: I was going thru cancer treatments at this time. When I could not sleep He sent a little bird to sing to me - at 3am. So this little bird was my physical sign that God was there.)
In 2012 we moved to Arizona. God's timing for my healing place. With the Arizona heat I was able to heal from most of the joint damage. One of the areas that was damaged in my brain is the area that controls my sense of hot and cold. I don't know when I am overheating. God sent people in my life that would tell me to go inside to cool down.
God also started to work with me on the panic attacks and PTSD. I had a great fear of driving outside of Maricopa. My first trip on my own was to Casa Grande to get my drivers license changed. I had to trust God to get me there and back - no GPS. Then Bill started traveling for his job. I needed to drive him to Sky Harbor. God used this to help me in overcoming the panic attacks. He would bring to mind Scripture. Eventually the panic attacks lessened. In the year before we moved to Indiana I had very little panic attacks.
Now we are in Indiana. My husband drives to Chicago where the home office is. My PTSD is not gone. I am unable to drive in Chicago traffic. With all of the semi traffic I am not safe in driving. So Bill and I agree that I can't drive to Chicago. I have tried and come to accept that fact. My PTSD is so bad that when my son became an over the road trucker I could not get out of the car to meet him at his truck, I could not watch the movie Convoy.
Every day brings different emotions. Today is hard. Every task brings different feelings. I am still learning to live with that.
Meet beautiful Jaleesa!
I came across a post that her Dad made on a TBI support board that we are both on. Her story is different from what we have seen so far in advocacy with Addi's Miracle, but her story is one of strength and perseverance and I am so happy to share it in hopes it encourages others.
Jaleesa and her family are from the state of Georgia. Jaleesa is 12 years old and on May 21st (2025) she was out with friends celebrating the beginning of summer when she fell from her electric scooter.
Jaleesa was very lucky in the fact that there was an adult friend of the family near by who is a nurse and she was able to begin CPR immediately. Still, she has had to have skull removed due to her brain swelling, she spent time on life support as well as time in ICU.
I have been blessed to keep in touch with her Dad and get updates on how she is doing. She is now in acute rehabilitation working really hard every day. Over the last few days she has been able to sit up by herself. She is learning to smile again. Dad says that you never know what is going to come out of her mouth...I have assured him...that probably won't change LOL!
Every day is looking brighter. However, Mom has had to quit her job to be at the hospital with Jalessa. Dad has had to take time off of work and things are scary at the moment.
There was a GoFundMe created by the friend who was on the scene and I have offered to share it on Addi's Miracle social media pages as well is here under survivors!
We look forward to seeing what God does with Jaleesa and her story! If you can donate to the family, please do! Otherwise, I know they would appreciate continued prayers and a simple share.