Chris Louwagie, his wife, Laura, and son Jonah are thankful that Chris is recovering so well from serious injuries he received in a car accident in July near Hills.By Jolene FarleyChris Louwagie, Luverne, has no memory of the July car accident that landed him and two other locals in the hospital.Louwagie, 28, was a passenger in a vehicle that collided with another vehicle at a blind, unmarked intersection northwest of Hills. After the accident, he was airlifted to Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls. The first fragmented memories Chris has after the accident are from more than 10 days later. "It?s just bits and pieces, I remember about people being there and saying hi," he said. Louwagie?s injuries included three fractured vertebrae, multiple broken ribs, swelling on the brain and both of his lungs collapsed. Finding his family after the accident?The day of the accident Louwagie?s wife, Laura, left Luverne with the couple?s son, Jonah, and other friends to visit college friends in Bird Island.The only people who knew Laura?s whereabouts were Chris and those in the vehicle with her. "People tried to get a hold of me," Laura said. "Finally, someone broke into our house." A highway patrolman, with the help of the husband of one of the friends Laura was visiting, waved Laura over while she was driving. Laura was in shock when they broke the news of Chris?s accident to her. "Right away, you don?t think they are talking to you," she said. She immediately called Sioux Valley Hospital and was told Chris had been in a very serious car accident. Laura said the three-hour drive back to the hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., was the longest three hours of her life. At her husband?s bedside"The first day you feel ? You?re in such shock. You don?t even know how to respond or what to do," she said. It was about 6 p.m. before Laura was told the extent of Chris?s injuries. Doctors told her the first 24 to 48 hours after the crash were the most critical. On a ventilator because of his collapsed lungs, Chris struggled for his life. Doctors told Laura that 70 percent of victims with fractures like Chris had are paralyzed.Laura said doctors didn?t sugar coat anything and couldn?t tell her if Chris would recover. "She (the doctor) listed off all the things that were wrong," Laura said. "She wouldn?t reassure me he would be alright. That was a really hard first night." Laura would remain at her husband?s bedside for 10 or more hours a day for the first week or two after the accident.Turning the corner ?"The day I probably felt things were starting to be better was five days (after the accident)," Laura said. "I?ve said all along even if he had been paralyzed, we could have handled whatever it was, as long as he was OK," Laura said.Laura brought Jonah to visit and Chris recognized him. His heart rate went up and he had tears in his eyes.Soon doctors removed Chris from the ventilator. "After the ventilator you start feeling like, OK, he?s breathing on his own," Laura said.Chris was transferred from the Intensive Care Unit to the Neuro-acute unit were the nurse-to-patient ratio is greater.The road to recovery?"The whole thing was kind of like a big roller coaster," Laura said.Chris, at times, couldn?t remember Laura?s name. Doctors reassured her that with head injuries patients don?t always remember people until they have meaningful conversations with them.He was transferred to a rehabilitation unit on Thursday, Aug. 14. He began the rounds of speech, occupational and physical therapists. "The first thing they wanted to do was physical therapy," Chris said. "To get me up and walking on my own." At first, Chris sat in a wheelchair in his hospital room and the therapists would ask him to lift his leg or other simple exercises. "They were eventually able to get him down to the therapy rooms where they had more equipment to deal with things," Laura said.Chris remembers everyday tasks that people take for granted were difficult for him. "He (the therapist) was trying to get me to walk across the room," he said. "He had his arms around me. "During this time Chris frequently used the word "ouch," according to Laura. "That was his word," she said.Chris began attending physical therapy every day for a half-hour a day. After his condition improved, his schedule was increased to twice a day. Chris would eventually spend three hours a day in either occupational, speech or physical therapy. Speech therapy was frustrating, he said. "They?d ask simple questions and I?d get them wrong." "After awhile, I knew I didn?t have the right answer, but I just couldn?t think of it." Although frustrated, Chris showed the biggest improvement in his speech. "In just a matter of weeks it went from simple questions Chris couldn?t answer to when he got out, acting more like himself," Laura said.HomecomingChris was released from the hospital on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Once at home, he needed 24-hour supervision at first. With his head injury, doctors didn?t want him falling or forgetting to turn off the stove, for example.Laura said Chris?s family, from Cottonwood, and her family, from Mitchell, S.D., took turns staying with Chris. Laura was able to return to her job as a fourth-grade teacher in Worthington.Chris continued speech therapy in Luverne after he came home. Therapists advised him to enroll in a college course for "upper-level thinking." They hoped this would help cement the improvements in his condition.Motivation?Chris was always very motivated to recover from his injuries. "I just felt that I had places to be at certain times," he said."? People that needed you maybe," Laura replied to Chris.Although Chris isn?t angry about his situation he, at times, becomes frustrated. "Just being hurt, if I can?t do things for myself, I have to ask Laura to help me, and if she?s not there right away, sometimes I get snappy," he said. Back in the classroom?Chris, unable to enroll in a college level course because it was halfway through the semester, has returned to the classroom at Hills-Beaver Creek elementary for a few hours a day. A substitute teacher is also in the classroom with Chris and 28 students. Head injury patients need a gradual transition to handle the stress and stimulation of everyday living or tasks, according to doctors. Affects of the accident?Although Chris continues to improve, he has lasting affects from his injuries. "If I work too much or I?m on my feet to much, I?ll be in pain," he said.The accident made the couple prioritize their lives. "You appreciate your family and your friends," Chris said. "You don?t try to let things bother you as much, and you appreciate the time you have with them." With 12 siblings, Chris had a steady stream of visitors while he was in the hospital. "There was hardly a day that I didn?t have a visitor," he said. "For the first two weeks, we always had someone at the hospital and someone at the house, whether it was his family, my family or friends," Laura said. The couple appreciates the support they received from everyone. "There?s people today I run into and I don?t know who they are and they will ask how I?m doing," Chris said.
