Everyone Should Read This Story

Read this story: Brain-Damaged Woman Talks After 20 Years.

Sarah Scantlin was hit by a drunk driver 20 years ago. She has been confined to a hospital bed and unable to speak since then. She has only been able to blink her eyes to answer yes or no questions. Now suddenly, she can speak.

But here is what will really make you mad:

“Scantlin still suffers constantly from the effects of the accident. She habitually crosses her arms across her chest, her fists clenched under her chin. Her legs constantly spasm and thrash. Her right foot is so twisted it is almost reversed. Her neck muscles are so constricted she cannot swallow to eat.”

And the very next paragraph:

“The driver who struck Scantlin served six months in jail for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.”

Let me remind you, she has been trapped in a hospital bed with no understanding of the outside world, unable to walk, eat, or even speak. This has been her prison for the last 20 years. The jerk who hit her served SIX MONTHS! SIX MONTHS FOR TWENTY YEARS OF PAIN, TORMENT, AND MISERY!

Let me bring your attention back to this: “She habitually crosses her arms across her chest, her fists clenched under her chin.” After 20 years, she is still trying to defend herself from the oncoming vehicle. God bless her.

If you or someone you know has ever driven drunk, remember this woman the next time you get behind the wheel after having too much to drink. Some may call what happened to this poor woman an accident. But I say it is no accident. Accidents happen and cannot be prevented. This could have been prevented. All it would have taken is for the driver to say, “I’ve had too much to drink. I shouldn’t drive. I’ll call a cab.” If this had happened, this woman would have been able to live and enjoy her life.

In light of this miraculous (and there is no other word for it) recovery, let us also remember Terri Schiavo, the brain damaged woman in Florida whose husband is going to remove her feeding tube and allow her to die with “dignity.”

And finally:

“Her father, Jim Scantlin, understands that Sarah will probably never leave the health care center, but he is grateful for her improvement.

‘This place is her home ... They have given me my daughter back,’ he said.”

–J.E. Heath
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