Family is thankful for community's prayers

Photo courtesy of Shelly Valdez

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Karen Popish (#93) participates in a Blessed Sacrament Parish 5K run/walk in October. She was supposed to be pushed in the wheelchair her brother is pushing, but with her eager spirit, she walked all but one-third of the 3.2 mile race. She is anxious to a life that is very active.

SANDY — Karen Popish, 22, is lucky and thankful to be alive.

"We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers from so many people," said her mother Linda Popish. Linda and Bob Popish are members of Blessed Sacrament Parish. Bob and I cannot thank the people around us enough because if it were not for their prayers and their support, which I firmly believe is what has brought Karen to this point, she may not be with us."

Karen was completing an internship for her degree in Leisure Services Management from the University of Utah as a tour guide for Hummers and ATVs in Moab. She was employed with Highpoint Hummers and ATVs.

On July 5, Karen was driving her boss’ full-size pickup truck pulling a trailer loaded with three ATVs back to the garage.

"I was coming back from a tour when the wind kicked up in the valley and it started to make the truck and trailer fishtail," said Karen. "I did not know how to fishtail, so I slammed on the brakes, which took me off the road, flipped me a couple of times, and took my seat belt off and threw me from the truck. They say the seat belt came over my head and came off me when the truck was rolling."

"Which was a good thing," added her mother, Linda, who has to help Karen remember the details. Karen remembers July 4, but she does not remember July 5.

"They found me in between the railroad tracks between Thompson Springs and Moab," said Karen. "It was 6 p.m. and still light out. Nick, another tour guide, was following me. He was a more experienced tour guide, but he could not find his keys, so I left before him. He did not see the accident, but came up over the hill just after it happened."

"There were some people coming in the opposite direction who actually saw the accident, and one of them was a nurse. She went over to Karen right away," said Linda. "Nick called 911, so Karen had immediate response from paramedics in Moab.

"The truck landed upside down and the roof caved in, and was sitting on the rail of the tracks," said Linda. "So had she not been thrown out of the truck, she would not have survived. They took her to the Moab emergency room, and within 45 minutes airlifted Karen to St. Mary Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. As soon as she got in the hospital, her spleen ruptured. So had she still been in the truck, or on the tracks, she would not be here today. She was in a coma for two weeks."

When Karen received the call from Moab, all they would tell her was that Karen had been in an accident and she needed to get there right away. Linda received another phone call from her cousin, Carol Calacino, who works at St. Mary’s Hospital. Calacino was able to talk to the doctor when Karen was brought in. She too, said get here right away.

There were no flights available, so Linda’s close friend, Angela Martinez, said she would drive Linda to Grand Junction.

"I knew she had a broken pelvis, and Carol told me she looks like she is unconscious," said Linda. "Karen was so bad and swollen, that she was unrecognizable. She had one black eye. She hit her head first and had three deep lacerations. She fractured her left eye socket, had a fractured skull, fractured collar bone, fractured sternum, fractured hip, fractured pelvis, fractured tailbone, torn patella, road rash all over her left side, and worst of all was the swelling of her brain. They kept her in a cold bed, packed in ice, in a dark, and quiet room.

"We could not touch her, and we could only whisper to her if her monitor was at the right level," said Linda. "She had to be resting comfortably. At the end of the second week, they started discontinuing one medication at a time to bring her out of the coma to give her body time to wake up. Then she got a touch of pneumonia. Everything was a complication.

"We finally decided we needed to get Karen back to Salt Lake City," said Linda. "Her father, Bob, could not get off work to go see her and that was very difficult for him. I was staying at Rose Hill Hospitality across from the street for families of patients with extended stays, but they had asked me to leave and go to a hotel to give another family an opportunity to stay there.

"So through prayer, we were able to bring Karen home in 16 days," said Linda. "The parishioners at Blessed Sacrament Parish held a vigil to pray for Karen, and people were praying for Karen across the country. With her injuries she should not have left Grand Junction any sooner than 12 weeks. Her brain had been swelling to the point they thought they were going to have to do surgery. And then Karen was well enough to travel.

"They life-flighted her to the University of Utah Hospital, where Carol’s sister was the nurse who facilitated our entry at this end," said Linda. "Her name is Judy Samson, they are the daughters of Judge Jim Sawaya. So we had angels helping us all the way."

When Karen woke up she had a brace on her leg and was unable to move. They told her she had been in an accident. But eager as she is, she kept trying to stand up and take the brace off. So they had to watch her to keep her down. She remained in the University Hospital for one week before being moved to Health South for rehabilitation. She remained there until Sept. 5, and came home two months to the day of the accident.

She now attends therapy four times a week for one and a half hours. They want to acclimate her back into the community. She does therapy to strengthen her legs, speech therapy, and occupational therapy to increase the quickness of her mind. She performs tasks such as cooking and playing games such as card sorting, math problems, and puzzles. The therapists want her to get out into the community, so she is volunteering at Blessed Sacrament School helping the students and correcting papers. Her speech therapist has taken her to Barnes & Noble and asked her to go find books.

"My brain is still bruised, so they won’t let me drive or ride ATVs," said Karen. "I feel like a fresh 16-year-old in a hurry to drive. Since the accident, I speak my mind a lot more, and my senses have increased. I feel like I am being held back and I am not up to that."

"The doctors say if she were to injure her brain again, she would not recover as well as she has to this point," said Linda. She does not realize how serious she was. After the rosary and more than 100 people praying that evening, she made her first positive step toward her recovery. I knew she was in God’s hands and she was going to be okay.

"The other day I sent her out to get the mail and I watched her walk, and it hit me – she is able to walk down the sidewalk and come into the house," said Linda. "I was so glad she was alive, because she so easily could not have been.

"The thanks go on and on to the neighbors for their meals, and to family and friends for their support and prayers," said Linda.