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Haley Phillips Update And Fundraiser

haley-phillipsMOUNTAIN AREA — Michelle Sullivan walked into her daughter Haley Phillips’ room at Community Regional Medical Center, put her backpack on a chair, and suddenly heard the words she’s been yearning for. “Hi, Mom,” said Haley, 20, in a low and raspy voice.

That’s something every mom likes to hear but this one hadn’t since Haley was involved in a catastrophic car accident on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Since “Hi, Mom,” Michelle has yet to hear Haley speak again, but she’s determined and confident her determined daughter will. So far, it’s a good start to her rehabilitation after suffering severe head trauma and other injuries following the accident in which her friend, driver O’Neill Ewell, also 20, was fatally injured.

Haley’s mom Michelle and her dad Brandon Phillips moved to Coarsegold in July, where their older daughter, Nichole, 23, also lives. Haley has been living in the area with her grandparents, Patsy and Jerry Sullivan, for the last three years. The family is originally from San Jose.

The young women, who worked together at Slim’s Coffee Shak in Oakhurst, were on their way to pick up a friend when the accident occurred. For unknown reasons, the vehicle abruptly veered from the roadway off Highway 41 in Coarsegold and went down the embankment, colliding with a tree. Witnesses reported that the vehicle was not speeding. At the time, Haley had only worked at Slim’s for a few months, but the loss of O’Neill and the absence of Haley has been a painful one for the community.

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A fundraising dinner will be held on Thursday, Nov. 10 from 4 – 8 p.m. at Sierra Sky Ranch for Haley’s benefit. The cost for a spaghetti dinner with all the fixings is $10 for adults and $7 for kids. The celebration for Haley includes live music and, thanks to donations of food, location, entertainment and amenities, all proceeds will go directly to Haley for medical expenses.

Following the accident in September, Haley was airlifted to Community Regional Medical Center, unconscious. Her mom says she sustained four broken ribs, a laceration to the liver that doctors say was caused by the seat belt she wore, a bruised spleen, and severe head trauma. Surgeons removed part of Haley’s skull in a procedure known as cranioplasty, in order to accommodate the brain swelling that occurs in injuries such as this. Swelling has since subsided and the cranioplasty is complete.

As Haley began to slowly show signs of improvement, the time came when doctors said to move her out of CRMC and into a rehabilitation facility. Meanwhile, Tracy Marr had reached out to Haley’s mom.

Tracy is in a club no one wants to be in, and Michelle is in that club now, too. In 2008, while driving home from Yosemite High School’s Sober Grad, Tracy’s son Jared was in a devastating wreck when he fell asleep behind the wheel. Jared had internal injuries, broken bones, and severe head trauma. In the eight years since his accident, Jared has worked hard with his mom by his side, and is now attending college in Oakhurst. Soon, he’ll give a talk on drowsy driving which, together with distracted driving, threatens to overtake impaired driving as a leading cause of accidents. Jared had to learn to walk and talk all over again after the accident. That’s what Haley needs to do, now.

So when Tracy heard they were getting ready to release Haley, and Michelle didn’t know of a good rehab facility or have any clue as to how to take care of her child at home, Tracy said, try Valley Children’s Hospital. Michelle fretted that it wasn’t a viable possibility because Haley is 20. It turns out, Tracy explained, the cut-off age at Children’s is 21 and Haley won’t be 21 until February 16, 2017. Tracy knows these magical tricks because she’s been through it all, too, as Jared was at Children’s during his recovery.

A social worker scheduled an evaluation and Children’s Hospital checked Haley out at CRMC. Thankfully, she was admitted to Children’s on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

“Haley is at Valley Children’s with rehab from here on out,” says Michelle. “She progresses more and more every day.”

You have to understand how far she’s come in order to get the nature of Haley’s progress and where she’s headed. She is now able to respond to commands, such as “smile.” If her mom says, “stick out your tongue,” Haley does it. When mom says “sad face,” Haley sticks her bottom lip out. When mom says, “mean face,” she squishes it up.

Haley currently has a tracheotomy with a filter to allow speaking, and a feeding tube, also. The family’s medical team is hoping to lose both of those soon and let Haley return to eating soft foods like yogurt.

Michelle has been home to Coarsegold only twice since Sept. 13, just for minutes to pick up clothes and return to the hospital. Haley’s dad is there beside Haley constantly, as well. The couple sleep at night on a foldout in Haley’s hospital room at Children’s and are not prepared to go back to work, since their daughter is in rehab therapy from morning until afternoon. They refuse to leave because they know their daughter needs them to advocate for her, and the truth is, the advocates need advocates, too. This is why it’s so important that the community participate in the fundraiser for Haley on Nov. 10 at Sierra Sky Ranch.

With Haley improving a little each day, her family still has the stress of no income right now, and worry about the bills getting paid. Michelle works at Miller Milling off Highway 99 and her husband works for a small construction firm with no paid family leave. The are relieved to have insurance, but it’s simply not enough to cover this major event during which they need to concentrate on helping their daughter rehabilitate, which is, in itself, is a full time job.

“We just stay with Haley,” says Michelle without complaint. “Therapy starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. She has physical, occupational and speech therapy.”

The physical therapy has begun to help Haley regain her strength, starting with sitting up in bed and eventually moving to standing and walking. Occupational therapy will help her learn to do regular things like teeth-brushing and hair-combing. Speech therapy will help Haley’s brain recover the language patterns that appear to be lost at this time but may, in fact, be buried within her just waiting to re-emerge with the right rehabilitation. Haley gets breaks in between therapies and when her day is done she just wants to take a nap.

“Everybody tells me it is hard,” says Michelle, referring to the situation in all its complexity. “I feel positive Haley is still here for a reason and she is very strong physically and mentally. When Haley wanted something she always did it. I worry but feel Haley is going to make a very strong recovery because of the kind of person she is. I have my meltdowns but I have to stay strong for Haley.”

The family wants to thank the community for the support and contributions to the fund that goes toward Haley’s expenses, and for all the efforts going into the upcoming fundraiser.

Michelle and Brandon will be with Haley the next time she says, “Hi, Mom,” or “Hi, Dad,” and they hope you’ll be at Sierra Sky Ranch on Nov. 10 from 4 – 8 p.m. to give the family a helping hand and, most of all, show support for Haley Phillips.

Can’t make it to the fundraiser but still want to help?

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