Day 1

March 2nd. We wrecked. Looking back, I now remember. I remember not wanting to leave my parents house in Bakersfield. I clearly remember saying “Just to let you guys know I have a bad feeling about this” and everyone brushing off my gut reaction. I was sitting in the passenger side and Vik was in the back seat. We hit a tire in the road, and then a semi hit us. I remember Vikki repeating… “It doesn’t matter…were all ok.” But I knew we weren’t because I felt an increasingly large bump on the side of my head!

This is my last lucid memory until days after I woke up in the hospital. I’ve asked my family to help me fill in the events of the following days so that I can build a timeline of the event. This next part is from my sister Kate because the next week I don’t remember, all I can do is talk about my dreams during this time…

At 6:00 AM east coast time (3:00 AM in California) Vicky calls with troubling news. She told me that there was an accident but everyone was okay. Rikki was going to the hospital to get monitored because she had bumped her head. Vicky insisted that there was no need for alarm, Rikki was fine. I continued to get ready for work and left my apartment at 7:30. As soon as I got to work I started crying, Vicky assured me that she would let me know if there was any news. Dad called around 9:00 AM (I think) to tell me that they had to take Rikki into surgery. Again I asked if I needed to go home, but was told that she would be out and fine in a few hours. I left work because I was too upset and wanted to wait at home for any news. By the time I got home I had missed two calls and got on the phone with Vicky. The surgery was going well- half way through the nurse updated my family telling them that Rikki was fine. About an hour later Vicky got back on the phone and in her sobs I heard her mumble something about a coma. I asked if I needed to be there (although I was already packing my bag). She put Mom on the phone and I just said “Do I need to come?” through tears I heard my mom say “yes.” I called the airline and was out the door and on the plane in under two hours. I didn’t even need to ask Mark if he was coming because he started packing right away too.

I arrived at Bakersfield around 8 PM when visitor hours were closed. Mom brought me to the hospital at around 8:30 PM. Rikki was laying in bed with a respirator. She looked puffy. I asked two questions to the nurse. 1. Can I touch her? (yes) 2. Can she hear me? (It can’t hurt to talk). I grabbed her foot and hand (two areas that were exposed) and sat and talked with her. I stayed in the 2 visitor limited ICU, first with Vicky, next with Mom, and finally with Mark. At home nobody could sleep. We watched TV.

I had dreams about Kate being there, in my dreams she was taking care of me while I was involved in a weird brain science experiment. In my dreams my helmet turned on and logged the dreams you had while the scientists watched. In reality, my family was begging me to sleep. I was in trouble a lot for not sleeping and since I could not differentiate reality from my dreams, I thought it was because everyone was using me for my dreams. I made Kate ask nurses how to turn my helmet on and she did. I also hallucinated a lot. In both my dreams and real life.