WATCH: Horror crash survivor back home before her birthday
ER24 EMS paramedics Gareth Staley, Darius Basson, Lizaan Meyer and tow truck driver, Robin Colman who cut Jenna out of the vehicle where also present at the pink themed home coming event motivated by the pink nail polish that Jenna wore on the day of the accident.
The number-one priority of any parent is undoubtedly to keep their children safe from harm. Therefore it is every parent’s worst nightmare becoming a reality when their child is involved in a horrific car accident where images seem to coalesce into a collage of grief.
On Thursday, 18 February the once shattered family, friends and community organised an event to welcome Jenna Evans home after a fatal crash that left her life hanging in the balance.
Jenna’s difficult journey of healing was followed by close to 600 people on support groups only, including South Africans and many people abroad.
Watch here:
The 19-year-old from Ruimsig was involved in the horrific head-on collision on 19 December 2020 after which she was resuscitated twice on the night of the accident, and had some serious touch-and-go moments.
Jenna’s organs were failing and she almost didn’t make it due to the severity of her injuries as she had broken her left leg, left arm and pelvis.
Her father, Joey Evans through all of his connections managed to get her an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine the night of the accident, which kept her alive.
ECMO is a life-support machine used on people with a severe and life-threatening illness that stops their heart or lungs from working properly, and the machine temporarily takes over the functions of the heart and lungs.
Jenna was in the intensive care unit (ICU) for two days short of a month, and then moved to rehab where she spent about four weeks.
She was told that she would only be discharged on 11 March, but as determined as she was to be home for her 20th birthday, she set herself the goal to be home by 19 February for her birthday on 20 February.
Required to walk 80 metres and one flight of stairs to be discharged early, she not only did that but walked 100m and did two flights of stairs. Her walking continues to improve and she’s building back up her ability to function fully. All her muscles are very weak still but every day she improves in this area.
“I am very motivated and keen to keep my life goals on track without being affected by this challenge. I have decided to continue with my studies to become a Foundation Phase teacher and will start my second year at Varsity College in the next week or so,” said Jenna.
ER24 EMS paramedics Gareth Staley, Darius Basson, Lizaan Meyer and tow truck driver, Robin Colman who cut Jenna from the vehicle were also present at the pink-themed homecoming event motivated by the pink nail polish Jenna wore on the day of the accident.
“We are so thankful to be a part of this journey and to see that she has made it this far. It is always nice to get some positive feedback every now and then, and we are just so happy that she is okay,” said Lizaan.
