Pronounced dead & wheeled to the morgue - then...
Sharla was a dark-haired beauty, just beginning her modeling career. One summer evening, just two weeks shy of her 18th birthday, Shar was a passenger in a car driven by a friend.
His intentions remain a mystery. Was he trying to frighten, intimidate, or impress her? The driver hurtled his car to speeds of 120mph on a dirt road. “To this day, I don’t know why he did this”, she said. “He wasn’t drunk or anything.” Powerless to stop him, Shar, the only passenger, cried, “Please, you’re going to kill us!” At 192nd and Penn in Oklahoma City, the car went out of control, through a stop sign, and hit another car.
Pronounced dead at Edmond Hospital, she was wheeled to the morgue. On the way, a nurse noticed faint life-signs. Even though Shar was literally rescued from the brink of death, her injuries were massive – brain damage, broken and crushed face and jaw, two broken arms, a broken wrist, paralyzed on one side, a leg nearly amputated, an eyeball out of its socket.
The doctors gave Shar’s family little hope for her recovery. Normal life and her teen years were over. She also had to deal with the trauma of being the only survivor of the wreck, which ended the lives of three people, including the driver.
Shar was transferred to an Oklahoma City Hospital where she stayed for 6 months, including 3 months of physical therapy. Here is where her story takes an even more astounding turn.
The next step was a short stay at a “dismal and old-fashioned” rehab hospital in another town. With no money for years of private physical therapy, Shar was convinced the only way to recover would be to take charge of her own recovery.
While visiting a YMCA one day, Shar noticed the triangular logo that said, “Body, Mind, and Spirit” at each corner. She said, “The spirit part kept the light on in my mind. That is what I think of. That gives me strength.” She joined the YMCA, exercising daily. At this point, she had progressed to using a walker.
To learn to walk again, Shar practiced at the mall. “Before the accident, I wanted to be a fashion model. As I exercised, I would imagine that I was modeling. In order to do this I would dress as a true model; hats, jewelry, stylish dress, and walk (stumble) through the mall.” It took her many hours to get ready for each mall walk.
Because doctors told her she would always need a cane, she accessorized with fancy ones; a hand-carved dragon and a push-button cane that became a sword. She also forced herself to talk distinctly through her facial injuries, hoping to develop new response pathways in the brain. Shar was “visualizing” winning and recovering, years before sports, medicine, and psychology discovered the technique.
That car accident happened July 7th, 1968. Today, 42 years later, Shar volunteers 3 days a week at the rehab unit of the Oklahoma City Hospital that saved her. She marvels at the progress therapy has made and the myriad resources available now, especially in speech therapy, which was not available to her years ago.
In her volunteer work, Shar encourages and inspires patients, visiting and cheering them on. Sometimes she shows them a booklet that details the accident, her recovery, some quotes, prayers, and humor. It says, “Let’s talk about the last 30 years of recovery. It has taken me 15 years to learn how to walk, another 15 years to walk without assistance (a walker), and 25 years to learn how to talk and be understood.”
She also reassures patients, “Don’t worry. Modern medicine can do so many wonderful things. Your recovery won’t take as long as mine.” She tells patients that one secret to successful recovery is to have a support group of family and friends. “Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are also a great support group. You will feel frustration,” she tells patients, “but by all means, exercise, because God helps those who help themselves.”
Shar writes, “Through the doctors, nurses, therapists, exercise instructors, faith in God and my own determination, I now live an independent life.” She drives a car, takes dance aerobics, zumba, kickboxing, spinning, and toning at the Y – usually 2 classes a day – and mows an acre of land.
Though she never modeled again, Shar was able to realize some of her professional dreams. She designed dresses, produced fashions shows, held jobs as a store buyer, window dresser, photo-shoot coordinator, and a writer/editor covering fashion for local papers. She still loves stylish clothes and dresses in cute exercise outfits. At almost 60, she has long legs and a youthful figure many younger women would envy.
Shar is not afraid to say that she has times when she is discouraged and upset. Her uphill battle has been marked by some very dark valleys. “You have no idea how hard small, everyday things can be,” she said. “When I think ‘This is awful,’ I think about how God saved me. God has taken care of everything.” She still struggles with speech, double vision, and balance, but credits her limitations to Him. “He is showing the patients that I’ve been there and I do know what it takes.”
Her philosophy is to live each moment to the fullest. “Every step serves as another step… when you get to one level, you’ve got to reach for the next level. You can’t have everything,” she says. “But I sure try hard. I improvise and compensate daily in the many challenges I still must face. It takes courage to live.”
If doctors could prescribe inspiration and encouragement, Shar’s life would be a testament to persistence, faith, and optimism in giant doses. Shar’s advice is, “Whatever life throws your way…you’ve got to deal with it! Amen.”
Shar's story written by Monica
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