EDMONTON- The family of a young Mundare woman, who was seriously injured in a collision in Edmonton in March, is asking for support as she continues to recover.
18-year-old Renaye Wade has been in a coma at the Royal Alexandra hospital for nearly a month, with her family by her side every day.
“I won’t leave my baby in the hospital by herself,” Renaye’s mother Tammy Wade said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s like a bad nightmare and you can’t wake up.”
Shortly before 5:00p.m. on Friday, March 15th, Renaye’s father received a phone call from his daughter.
“‘Dad, the car is stalled in the centre lane of the Yellowhead, what do we do?,'” Darren Wade recalled.
But, little did he know those would be the last words he would hear from his daughter.
Darren told Renaye to get out of the car and phone a tow truck. But, Renaye decided to wait in the car until the tow truck arrived.
While waiting, Renaye’s car was rear-ended by another vehicle and pushed into a neighbouring lane where it was then hit by a semi-truck.
The next phone call Darren and Tammy received was from the doctor, saying Renaye had arrived at the hospital with a cracked pelvis, broken jaw and had bleeding in her brain. Renaye has been in a coma ever since.
“She (has) started to respond to pain and now that’s pretty much where we are, we’re waiting for more reponses from her,” said Tammy.
Tammy says Renaye has been reacting to loud noises, she has started moving her head and has opened her eyes a few times.
“I see her, at times,” Tammy said.
“You could tell when she was in there and when she wasn’t, and she’s not there most of the time, but there’s time she’s there,” Darren added.
Darren and Tammy say their daughter is an extremely tough young woman and she’ll make it through this, but they’re asking for a bit of help from the public.
Renaye’s favourite colour is yellow. As a way to show his support and love, Renaye’s brother Adam created “wear yellow day.”
“I just thought of people wearing yellow as one yellow shirt equals one prayer,” Adam explained.
Nearly 300 people took part in the first “wear yellow day” in the family’s hometown of Mundare. Because of its success, the family has organized a second one, urging people to wear yellow on Monday- one month to the day since Renaye’s accident.
“Anybody who knows Renaye know it’s her colour,” said Darren. “The family appreciates all the support.”
Darren made a collage from the pictures of the first “wear yellow day” and plans on adding to it with the pictures from the second event.
“She’s going to wake up and she’s going to see so much yellow in that room that she’s going to feel comfortable.”
“It doesn’t change what happened, but it’s just, finding a way to show how much the people around her care,” added Adam.
It’s all in an effort to get their beloved daughter, and sister to wake up and come home.
“She’s a determined girl. She’s not going to let this get her,” said Tammy.
“It’s not going to happen overnight, it’s going to be a long process and we’re just trying to make her feel comfortable,” added Darren.
With files from Fletcher Kent.
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