Anaconda woman who survived serious car wreck speaks on her ordeal

On April 2 at 8:26 p.m., Jessie Sather was traveling south on Highway 273, the Galen Road, when she left very briefly to pick her dogs up from her parents' house, which was very close to her own. She eased on her brakes in preparation to turn into a driveway when a vehicle traveling at highway speed crashed into the back end of her car. During the collision her car spun 180 degrees and came to rest in a borrow pit facing the opposite direction that she was traveling. The first people on the scene noticed that she was lying next to the driver’s side of the car. 

“None of the doors on the vehicle would open because of the damage, but the driver’s side door window was broken so the presumption is I self-extricated through the window because I had my seatbelt on at the time of the accident and wouldn’t have been thrown from the vehicle,” she explained, and that point about the presumption would soon become clear.

Miraculously, an off-duty EMT/Firefighter was in the area and as soon as he heard the call come over the pager, he quickly went to her aid. He certainly expedited things when the ambulance got there because he had already assessed her situation. 

“This is what everybody was telling me. I don’t know this because I don’t remember anything,” she said.

The next people that showed up were her parents, then her husband.

“So in addition to the wreck itself being horrible for me, I feel like it was extra traumatizing to everyone that was there because they’re all people who have a pretty intimate relationship in me,” she said.

Jessie reported that the medical staff at Community Hospital of Anaconda presumed that she hit her head and broke the driver’s side window and that was responsible for at least part of her injuries. Diagnostically, her injuries were a traumatic brain injury with traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhages, which is bleeding, in both parietal lobes – most likely due to what is called a coup contrecoup laceration, which they repaired with staples. She was then Life Flighted to Missoula.

Her first two nights in Missoula were spent in the ER because of a shortage of beds, where the stimulus wasn’t ideal. From there she was moved to a triage floor for a couple more days while waiting for a regular bed to open. Finally she was moved to the neurology floor where she spent the last two days. She was released, but had complications and needed to return a few days later.

“When I went back, they admitted me to a behavioral health unit because that was a good placement and they promised my family a lot of things that didn’t happen. Therapies that didn’t happen. And that was horrible because it’s a behavioral health unit so you don’t get to have access to literally anything. You can’t have your phone. I had my own sweats, but my daughter had to take the laces out and all that stuff. But you don’t have access to anything,” she said.

During the eight weeks since the accident, things haven’t been easy. Her husband, who she has endless gratitude and respect for, wasn’t initially very knowledgeable with brain injury symptoms and behaviors, but he’s learning.

When describing her current situation, Jessie tearfully said, “Nobody’s going to be able to give my kids back their pre-accident mom. They’re not going to be able to give my husband back his pre-accident wife. It’s not going happen, because it’ll be forever.” 

After a moment of realization she added, “I’m grateful because I know that where I’m at now a lot of other people never ever get to in recovery. And the things that are hard for me now people don’t see. Things like word recall, and things that come with a brain injury that, if you’re not the person experiencing it, it’s really hard to describe.” 

She doesn’t recall any of the accident, nor the Life Flight or hospital. However, during the past four weeks things are finally starting to come together.

“Then when they discharged me I went home and that’s when I went through the different stages like changes in my personality. Delusional, like I was totally delusional about things. So yeah, it was awful,” she said.

During that time she also went into a “paranoid phase” where she wasn’t really aware of reality. Additionally, she felt that she wasn’t properly discharged with enough information explaining what may or may not happen, which would’ve been very helpful not just for herself, but also her caregivers and family.

“Just the stress that my family went through in that realm of time. And my poor God-loving husband went through at that time was totally awful. You know, when you hear about somebody getting into an accident like this you think 'oh, their poor family,' but until you live it, it’s a whole different story,” she said.  

Luckily, Jessie was previously a physical therapist and knew that her main first priority would be to receive physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.

“One of the hardest parts of all this has been coming to terms with being dependent on others because I always want to be the strong, independent person I was before the accident,” she said.

She explained how she felt fortunate to have some money in savings to fall back on, but the bills are racking up quickly. The time off from work, for her husband as well as herself, hasn’t made things easier. To offset costs, a friend that works at Smelter City Brewery has arranged a Pint Night benefit on Thursday, June 6 from 4-8 p.m. to help the family.

“In addition to actual medical bills, now and in the future, my family has and will continue to incur the costs associated with traveling to and from hospital stays and doctor appointments and housing and lodging while there,” she said. “As for pint night, we are grateful to our friend for organizing it and it felt it was a good way to streamline efforts to help us while supporting a local business. I really want to express how grateful we are for this amazing community for being so supportive of us, inquiring if we need things, offering help, and sending all the well wishes and saying prayers for me. On the toughest days, these are the things that helped us push through them and we are forever grateful for all the love and support.”

The pint night fundraising event will take place on Thursday, June 6 at 4 p.m. at the Smelter City Brewery, 101 Main street.