Jamie’s Story
With clear right of way and traveling well within the speed limit - less than 30 mph... on a road he drove every day - a car pulled out from a two way stop sign right into Jamie's path. He never had a chance to even brake. It was that fast.
The violence his body went through in that split second is almost unimaginable.
The impact literally broke Jamie from the nose down.
A woman witnessed it from her front window. She ran to his aid and stayed with him while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher until EMS arrived.
Those men worked to save my brother. Jamie sustained life threatening injuries and unimaginable blood loss.
He had compound fractures to both arms and legs, broken bones in his back, crushed pelvis, lacerated liver, massive internal and external injury in the pelvic area, broken jaw, palette, large facial wounds, cuts, and bruises. He has already 12 surgeries and may need even more as time goes on.
With the extent of injuries Jamie had, under normal circumstances he would have been put on Vanderbilt Life Flight. But THAT AFTERNOON, weather grounded the helicopters.
We later found out that had Jamie been put on the helicopter there wouldn't have been enough blood on-board to treat his massive bleeding and they wouldn't have been able to keep him alive. We believe the grounding of the helicopters to be a miracle, plain and simple. We are so grateful.
We are also so grateful for the focused decision making on the part of the EMS crew. They decided to take Jamie to Sumner Regional Hospital to get him stabilized before making the trip to Nashville. After doctors stabilized him at Sumner, an ambulance - with enough blood to safely make the trip - took him to Vanderbilt University Hospital.
Probably the worst moment of our lives was at the Vanderbilt trauma unit when the surgeon came in and spoke to our family. He told us Jamie's injuries were so serious and that he had lost so much blood that there was a good chance he was not going to make it.
But he did make it. Jamie fought for his life.
We thank God for the professionals; rescue workers, doctors, and nurses who took care of Jamie that day and to this day. These awesome people, Jamie’s fighting spirit, strong faith, and his wife Angie at his side 24/7, are why I am writing this today.
The EMS and fire crew that responded to the scene later told me that his were the worst injuries they had ever seen - where the person survived. Because of all of their professionalism and quick decisions at the scene, this is a story of recovery rather than what could have been just memories.
After Jamie's life saving surgery that Thursday night, the first week in the trauma unit was very scary. Fear of infection and keeping his blood pressure stable kept us in almost unbearable uncertainty.
We heard so many scenarios those first few days. It was almost totally overwhelming.
As I write down his story today, June 1st 2012, it's been two and a half months since the accident. Jamie’s progress has been miraculous! He still has a long way to go but he has come so far in the past two months.
Over the last few weeks he has gained the use of his arms and hands although it can be excruciating. He's facing some serious future dental work, BUT -- he can now eat solid food on his own. We are still a few weeks out from Jamie going to the next phase of his recovery. He should be starting therapy to put weight on his legs and move towards walking again soon.
In the days and weeks following the accident I called Sumner County EMS worker Sam Clark quite a few times. He and Stephen Williams were on the ambulance that day.
I went out to thank them and try to make some sense of what happened one night a few days after the accident. We did not understand how he could have been injured so badly at that speed.
They were so awesome. They answered all my questions and were very open and sensitive to the situation. These guys never look for thanks. They do their job and they do it well. They took me over to the firehouse in Gallatin and I met the crew that was there that day as well. Sam told me they all played a part that day. They were all around my brother and helped hold him together as they got him on the ambulance.
I tried my best to express my gratitude and the gratitude from our family to them.
There really are no words that can cover it though.
And then, after all they had already done for us, I got a call from Sam a few weeks after the accident. He said “Hey Mike, I know the last thing you probably want to hear about right now is motorcycles….but check this out…”
He proceeded to tell me how he and a bunch of the crew were members of The Roughnecks Gallatin Chapter, a motorcycle club comprised of members who work in public safety (Police, Firefighters, EMS…) and how they wanted to do a benefit ride for Jamie.
Needless to say we were blown away! It has since inspired us to just make a day (and night!) of it and have a Jam for Jamie and auction as well.
I would like to personally thank firefighter Darrell Templeton as well for all his hard work on organizing the event as well as all the Roughnecks.
The ride will commence at Godwhy Church in Hendersonville 1:00 p.m. on Saturday July14th 2012. We will then have the Jam for Jamie and auction that evening at The Mercy Lounge in Nashville.
We are so grateful for every person who has come to our aid in this time of need for Jamie and our family. There is no way to put it into words!
We have no idea what the out of pocket expenses are going to be once all is said and done. All we have been focused on is Jamie’s continued recovery.
We want to thank everyone who has helped out during this uncertain time. We are so grateful.
If you feel so moved, we would be grateful for any help you would like to make as well. To make it easy, we have a Paypal account set up where you can make a donation. Whatever you feel comfortable with, no matter, it means so much. Here's the PayPal ID:
Jamiesfund2012@gmail.com
Or maybe you have something that you'd like to donate to the auction? Whatever you are moved to do, we receive with thanks and gratitude.
Many love Jamie because he has loved so many. It is truly awesome to see how that love comes full circle.
We can’t wait to see everyone on the 14th!
Love,
Mike Simmons
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