by Julie Breitenstein
It was early on December 4, 2009, around 2AM, when that
phone call happened to us. I remember answering the phone and hearing a man’s
voice ask for Mr. Larry Breitenstein. I handed the phone to my husband and
heard the man on the phone ask Larry if he was the father of Austin
Breitenstein. At that moment, I knew there was something that had happened to
my son.
I remember laying
back the covers, getting out of bed, and heading to the closet to get dressed
while listening to the phone call. Larry hung up the phone and my question to
him was, "Where is he? He is either in jail or he is in the hospital!
Where is he?" Larry very calmly told me we needed to go to St. Francis
Hospital.
I didn't panic until we got to the hospital where we were
met by a Chaplain. I remember thinking, “Austin is dead! He is not alive!”
Finally, the Chaplain took us upstairs to SICU and put us in a private room. We
waited for another 20 minutes. A doctor came in and told us that Austin had
been in a severe car accident and she did not know if he would survive. She
told us he was still having CT scans done. Her next words were bone-chilling.
She said Austin had received a brain injury, a fracture to his C2 and C3
vertebrae, a bruised lung and lots of road rash. Only time would tell if he
would survive.
We called our daughter and she got to the hospital around
6:30 AM. A post was made on Facebook by 7:30, and by noon, there were so many
kids at the hospital you could hardly get up and down the halls. The nurse we
had was fantastic, she let every kid in to see Austin. They went in four at a
time in 3 to 4-minute intervals. It was very important to me that every kid see
him! I felt that if I could help just one kid from making the same mistake, I
had done my job.
What I didn't know was the cause of the accident. Our very
good friend (who was our insurance agent) asked if he could go to Austin's
truck and get anything salvageable. We weren't sure what would be left since he
had rolled it several times. I remember asking Wes to find his cell phone. I
was on a mission to know what had contributed to his accident, and the cell
phone told me what I needed to know. Austin had been texting!
I know this because of the time the last text came in and
the time 911 was called. Austin was reading a text when he veered off the
highway, and his reflex was to over-correct. Unfortunately, Austin had not
buckled his seatbelt, so when the over-correction happened, he rolled his
truck, which also catapulted him through the front windshield. Austin landed on
his head!
Because of the impact to the back of his head, his brain
ricocheted to the front left lobe of his brain causing severe damage. Austin
ended up with a bi-lateral craniectomy (bone flaps on each side of his brain
being removed) so his brain could swell. Austin should not have survived!
Austin eventually was put on a ventilator to help him breathe, and later
received a tracheotomy in SICU. Over a period of 26 days, Austin's heart failed
him 3-4 times.
We are now almost 22 months out from when his accident
happened, and I can tell you as a mom I would not wish this nightmare on
anyone. Austin has had to re-learn everything. I mean everything - swallowing,
eating, drinking from a straw, toileting, and walking! Austin continues to
learn something new each day. He has days that are good, and he has days that
can be extremely overwhelming. He does his best to make each day a new day and
works very hard on trying to get his life back together. Austin was 19 when his
accident happened; he is now 21.
There is nothing so important to be said in a text to give your
life for. The next time you text behind the wheel of a 2,000 lb. vehicle, know
you just may kill someone or even yourself! You may end up with a traumatic
brain injury like Austin, or a spinal cord injury that will put you in a wheel
chair for the rest of your life!
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