Watch above: Riding an ATV without a helmet one minute, needing assistance to live the next. Meaghan Craig brings us one woman’s struggle after suffering a brain injury.
SASKATOON – She is a brain injury survivor and she is sharing her story in the hope you or a loved one will think twice before leaving the house without your helmet especially as June marks brain injury awareness month. On Thanksgiving weekend 2009, Rachel Medernach went for an ATV ride and her life changed in the blink of an eye.
“I was kinda going on the side of the hill and I hit a bump that knocked me off of the quad and then knocked the quad up in the air,” said Medernach, who is now 43.
“It came down and landed on my head, complete fluke accident.”
READ MORE: Safety campaign asks ATV riders ‘Know Your Limits’
Rachel wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time and doctors would tell her family there was a five per cent chance she would live.
“It was honestly one of the most stressful days of my life, we honestly and truly didn’t know if she would survive,” said her mother Joanne Schwan.
“I remember the doctor coming out from surgery and I thought to myself ‘He’s going to tell me she’s dead’.”
Against all odds, Rachel survived.
She was in a coma until November of that year at Royal University Hospital and was then transferred to Saskatoon City Hospital for rehabilitation. She was discharged in the spring of 2010.
On Monday, she told Global News that her daughters are what get her through the day. They are now 10- and six-years-old. The youngest was seven-months-old at the time of the accident.
“They make it worth it every day to get up to go to rehab, to work hard and to get better.”
Rachel’s road to recovery however has been a hard one.
“It changed everything from my family life to my personal life, to my friendship to my motherhood to my work environment, everything changed,” remarked Medernach.
“I miss my independence the most.”
In August 2013, Rachel and her daughters moved in with her parents after she and her husband separated. The family built an addition on their home and the Kinsmen Foundation installed a lift off the back deck.
“This wasn’t what we planned for our retirement but you know it’s OK,” said Schwan, 68.
“Never give up, it still gets better and she is proving that for sure.”
Rachel’s goal is to one day walk again all by herself and said life is too short to concentrate on the negatives.
“Concentrate on the positives and laughter is the best medicine I truly believe.”
Rachel and her family are not alone. More than 2,000 people in Saskatchewan acquire a brain injury every year.
“In Saskatchewan, the number one cause, and this is actually all of North America, is through vehicle accidents so by vehicle this could be an ATV, this could be a snowmobile, this could be a bicycle but it could also be a car of course,” said Glenda James, executive director for the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association.
The second leading cause is a fall and experts say when worn properly helmets can reduce head, brain and severe brain injury by up to 88 per cent.
“I strongly recommend to everybody to wear helmets as often as possible,” said Medernach.
Her mother echoed the sentiment,
“Please, please wear a helmet please. It’s too much of a chance to take.”
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