A High School Athlete's Determination and a Near-deadly Collision

In January of this year, my sister, Allison Farrington, a cross-country skier at Skyview High School, was involved in a near-deadly collision with a moose on the Sterling Highway, just north of Soldotna, Alaska. The vehicle was traveling 55 mph on the night of January 18th. The driver, Rebekah Stigall, had been following all posted speed limits and obeying all traffic laws. Despite her diligent driving, there wasn't time to stop when a moose stepped onto the road. It was dark and Rebekah didn't see the moose until an oncoming car's headlights revealed the silhouette of the moose, but by then it was too late and the icy roads were unforgiving. Moose are a common occurrence on Alaskan roads, but because of their impressive size and weight, can prove deadly when struck by a vehicle on the icy roads.

The crash
When the car struck the moose, Allison had been leaning down, texting on her phone and listening to Rebekah's ipod in the passenger's seat of Rebekah's Chevy Lumina. Allison remembers the crash, "It all happened very fast. I felt like it was a dream, and I was going to wake up from it any minute. After Rebekah pulled over the car, I started to feel around my face and neck. When I felt blood. I thought it was moose at first... Until I realized that the blood was rushing out."

Allison's step-father, Curtis, had been driving behind them, and after passing the scene of the crash, turned around to help when he realized it was his daughter's car pulled over near the bloody moose. Curtis stayed at the scene of the accident, doing his best to stabilize Allison until the ambulance arrived. Allison was transported to Central Peninsula Hospital. Her neck had been cut open and her jugular severed. After undergoing several hours in emergency surgery, and a two-unit blood transfusion, Allison was stabilized and transferred to the intensive care unit.

Confronting mortality
Throughout the evenings events, Allison wasn't aware of how badly she had been hurt. Allison recalls, "When I was on my way to the hospital... I was more worried that [Rebekah] was going to blame [the accident] on herself. I never once thought I was going to die. I mean, I'm 17."

I found out about the accident from a friend who texted me asking if Allison was alright. I didn't know what was going on, so I called my grandmother. She was teary and incoherant. The only words I could make out from our telephone conversation was "Allie...ambulance...moose... it's bad." I called my step-father, and Allison was still in surgery. I spent the night, seven month pregnant, and frantically worried about my little sister. I thought about going to the hospital, but there was nothing I could do until she was out of surgery.

When my husband got home, I broke the news to him, crying and upset. I didn't know if she would be okay. This was the second time I had been faced with the possibility of one of my sisters dying, except this time, I was old enough to understand the weight of that reality.

Recovery
I woke up early and went to the store before going to the hospital. I bought Allison a robe, some socks with tread on the bottom, flowers, and a copy of "Finding Nemo." I had considered older movies, but knowing that Allison would be heavily sedated on morphine and other pain medications, I decided on something easier to follow along with.

I showed up bright and early and Allison was happy to see me. She was groggy and sore, and although the wounds were bad, I was relieved to see that they weren't nearly as bad as I had imagined them. It seems that we always picture something worse than reality when it comes to our family and loved ones.

Back on track
Today, Allison celebrates her 18th birthday; something she may never had done if things had gone even slightly different last January. It has been almost a year since she nearly lost her life on our snowy Alaskan roads, but she's bounced back better than anyone could have ever imagined. She's had to have very painful steroid injections into her neck, however, she's just like any senior in high school, laughing, hanging out with friends and going to classes. Allison didn't give up on sports though, and although she had to sit out the remainder of the season last year, she just finished the cross-country running season and will be beginning cross-country skiing shortly. Allison has plans to participate in track in the spring as well.