As we detailed in this post, every year our family visits the Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad (LCVRS) for saving our daughter’s life and countless others. In the beginning, Olivia did not know why we were doing it but once she understood, it became more special.
We held our fundraiser, ‘200 For 20’ in an effort to collect 200 gift cards to local restaurants in honor of the 20 year anniversary of our car incident. We also asked the community to include thank you notes. The overwhelming amount of support from our family, friends, local community, and others was incredible. A pleasure to witness so many who were willing to give.
We were invited to the LCVRS Awards Banquet this year to present the gift and share our story. Last weekend, during the last snowstorm of the season, we headed to a local country club armed with our basket of close to $2,500 worth of gift cards. Attendees included members of the Loudoun County Rescue and Fire, the mayor, the Board of Supervisors Chairwoman, and other guests. David Galen, a long-time volunteer, photographer, and such a great advocate of ours introduced Mike, Olivia, Anya, and me as we approached the podium.
Mike started us off with one of the first lines of our upcoming book, The Miracle Child: Traumatic Brain Injury and Me:
I walk past the answering machine with the blinking light to unload a couple of my bags, then return to my car that is still running in the driveway and park it in the garage. When I walk back to the kitchen, I decide to listen to the messages.
The message starts: “Mike, this is Kristin. Kelly and the girls were in a car accident,” the recording from my answering machine says in the stillness of my home. I hold my breath and wait for the next line, telling me, “But everyone is all right.” It never comes…
He continued with a story about Olivia when she said she was running away because she did not fit into our family. It was a heartwarming story and brought many of us to tears.
I followed and explained what happened that fateful night. I shared what witnesses told us about the scene of the accident and explained the situation. Olivia was code blue and was not expected to survive the ride to the hospital. I ended my remarks by informing the group that our family goes to the squad house every year on the anniversary of the accident and presents a gift, usually food, and a handwritten thank you card from Olivia. I finally said, “we wanted to do something more especially for the 20-year mark.".
Olivia described our ‘200 For 20’ campaign and gave her heartfelt thanks to the group. It was such a pivotal moment for all of us.
There has been some media coverage of the event in our local newspapers. You can read the articles in the Loudoun Times- Mirror and Loudoun Now.