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One woman’s story hope and determination – Left paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a drunk driver, Erin Rollins reveals she walked down the aisle at her own wedding two years later

Posted on May 16, 2019 by konniemoments in Health, Human Interest, Life Stories // 0 Comments

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In a true story of sheer grit and unflagging self-determination, Erin Rollins of Chicago reveals she walked down the aisle at her own wedding after surgery to remove shards of bone that shattered in her spinal canal
Rollins, 33, was told she was lucky to survive the collision in November 2014 after her car was totaled by a drunk driver
She was Woman left paralyzed from the waist down, and bone from her spine cut holes in her abdomen leading to internal bleeding 
Over the years Erin Rollins has had eight surgeries, including back surgery in 2016 to insert rods metal rods into her spine, to keep it from collapsing
A year later, surgeons deemed her spine secure and they were able to remove all the internal brace
She had to re-learn how to walk, But two years later, she married her partner, Dennis, after re-learning to walk
Although still in pain today, just before her wedding, she hugged and forgave the other driver in court 
Dennis and Erin Rollins wedding 1Erin Rollins, 33, of Chicago, walked down the aisle to marry Dennis, 39, two years after she was left paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a drunk driver
 
 
A woman who was left paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a drunk driver managed to walk down the aisle at her wedding.
Erin Rollins, 33, of Chicago, was driving in November 2014 when she was involved in a collision that paramedics said she was lucky to survive.
The freelance journalist suffered a spinal cord injury that sent shards of bone into her spinal canal and abdomen.
Chronicling her odyssey on Instagram, Erin Rollins shares her battle to recovery.

In the aftermath of the gruesome crash, Cuts in her bowel led to internal bleeding, which needed emergency surgery, and paralysis from the waist down. She has had eight operations in total.
Over the next two years, she had to re-learn how to walk with the loving support of her husband, Dennis, 39, whom she married two years after her accident.
Despite her life and health being permanently damaged, Erin Rollins forgave the drunk driver on the day of her sentencing, hugging her in court.
Erin Rollings 5
Freelance journalist Erin Rollins, 33, of Chicago, was driving in November 2014 when she was involved in a collision that devastated her life as she knew it
Erin Rollings car after the crash 1Erin’s car after the crash [photo]. Paramedics said she was lucky to survive
Erin Rollings immediately after car crash 1    Shards from her spine cut holes into Erin’s bowel, causing internal bleeding which required emergency surgery to forestall sepsis
Dennis and Erin Rollings 3Dennis Rollings visits his girlfriend in the ICU after the crash. She remembers losing sensation in her lower body in hospital after the crash, but initially thinking it was because of medication
Dennis and Erin Rollings at EasterThe unflgging support of husband Dennis was crucial to her recovery efforts
 
‘I may not have physically died on November 9, 2014, but I lost my life,’ Erin Rollins said.
‘Before the crash, I had dreams of having a career in journalism, but now I’m faced with the harsh reality that despite gaining back a lot of function in my body, I still have devastating losses that people don’t see from the outside.
‘I’m faced with these losses every time I have to say no to something because of pain, or because I’m physically unable to participate.
‘I will never be able to restore the time that was lost. I can forgive and move on, but the losses and sadness remain.’

After a drunk driver travelling the wrong way came around a corner and collided with Mrs Rollins, she was rushed to hospital.
Staff ran tests and checked Mrs Rollins, who couldn’t feel anything – she initially thought this was due to the pain medication.
However, she was found to have suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury and two burst fractures which sent shards of bone into her spinal canal, resulting in paralysis from the waist down.
Erin Rollings in body brace 1She suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury and two burst fractures which sent shards of bone into her spinal canal, resulting in paralysis from the waist down. During rehab Erin Rollins is seen sitting in a wheelchair [photo], while wearing a brace to support her back
Erin Rollings learns how to walk againErin Rollins, is seen with a doctor learning how to walk again using a stick and harness hanging from the ceiling
Erin Rollings and one of her doctors while in recovery 1A Smiling Erin is seen with one of her doctors following emergency surgery to repair her organs and internal bleeding after shards of bone caused holes in her colon, small intestine and bowel
Erin Rollings injury x-ray

 

Over the years Erin Rollins has had eight surgeries, including back surgery in 2016 to insert rods metal rods into her spine [photo], to keep it from collapsing. In 2017, surgeons deemed her spine secure and they were able to remove all the internal brace
Reliving the nightmare Erin said: ‘My memory from after the crash is very spotty and I remember specific moments.
‘I remember being wheeled backwards into the ambulance, but I had no idea what happened.
‘The paramedic came over and said I was lucky to be alive because most people don’t survive crashes like that. I kept telling them I was in the worst pain of my life repeatedly.
‘The next memory I have is of being in the hospital with nurses around me, taking me for tests and telling me they had to put an indwelling catheter in.’
She added: ‘But I didn’t feel anything though they told me it would be really uncomfortable.
‘I remember thinking it must have been the medication to numb the pain, but it wasn’t until later that I found out that I actually had no sensation from the waist down.’

The shards of bone also caused holes in her colon, small intestine and bowel and internal bleeding, requiring emergency surgery to repair her organs and stop the bleeding.
 ‘At one point, someone came into my room and said they had to do emergency surgery, but they didn’t know what to do first,’ she recollects.
‘Apparently, the holes in my colon, small intestine and bowel could cause sepsis and kill me.
‘I was also bleeding internally from the severed iliac artery and there was plenty of free-flowing fluid in my abdominal cavity’ Erin said.
Erin Rollings and her friends after weeks of physiothrapy 1   Erin Rollins seen [center], with friends after weeks of physiotherapy, began physiotherapy on Dec 6. 12 days later she was able to walk with a walker and a harness for support
Dennis and Erin Rollings wedding 2On the day of the drunk driver’s sentencing, just weeks before Dennis and Erin Rollin’s wedding in October 2016 [photo], Erin forgave the driver and even hugged her in the court
 
 
‘I had such severe spinal nerve compression that if they didn’t fish out the hundreds of shards of bone in my spinal canal, I could be completely paralysed for life.’
Three days after the collision, surgeons had to operate on the spinal column to remove the shards of bone.
Erin Rollins, 33, had eight surgeries following a car incident with a drunk driver on November 9, 2014.
Initially she had four surgeries, one of which was to implant spinal rods to help stabilise her back – it is not clear when this was.
On arrival after the collision, it was discovered shards of bone from the spine had caused holes in the colon, small intestine and bowel and internal bleeding, requiring emergency surgery.
Three days after the collision, surgeons had to operate on the spinal column to remove the shards of bone, which if left, could result in permanent paralysis.
 
Erin shows her Cholostomy bag, wheel chair and body braceErin Rollins may need a stoma bag [right], for the rest of her life due to abdominal damage
 
Erin was rushed for a third and emergency surgery ten days after the crash, because the surgery to close the holes in her abdomen had failed and she developed sepsis.
Mrs Rollins had two surgeries in 2015. One in January was the removal of a IVC filter because she had developed life-threatening blood clots.
The second surgery was to repair more damage in the abdomen, including a hernia that was very painful.
A surgery in 2016 replaced the spinal rods which had broken. The spine was not stable enough to remove them.
In 2017, the right rod broke and surgeons determined that the fusion was secure enough to remove the hardware.
Mrs Rollins was rushed for a third and emergency surgery on November 19, ten days after the crash, because the surgery to close the holes in her abdomen had failed and she developed sepsis – when the immune system attacks itself, triggered by an infection.
 ‘They caught it just in time and within hours I would have died because the colon was literally spewing at the surgeons when they opened me up, ‘ she recounts.

Erin Rollins began physiotherapy on December 6 and by December 18 she was able to move with a walker and a harness for support.
The crash brought Mrs Rollins’ life to a standstill and she’s spent years regaining her strength.
She had various surgeries, including two to insert spinal rods to stop her spine collapsing. In 2017, surgeons deemed her spine secure and they were able to remove all the hardware.
She is now able to walk independently but requires braces on her feet as certain nerves and muscles don’t work after being injured.
She may also need a stoma bag, a pouch that collects faeces and urine on the outside of the body, for the rest of her life.
Because of the abdominal damage, carrying a child through pregnancy would be high risk.
Mrs Rollins said: ‘I can’t do anything that might potentially hurt my spine or have impact.
‘I struggle with fatigue which is common in spinal cord injury patients and I can’t handle the heat as my spine has trouble regulating temperature.
‘The inability to urinate on my own, the complete dependence I have on intermittent catheters and colostomy bags is frustrating, discouraging and extremely expensive.
 
Erin Rollings visits the firefighters who rescued herFour years after the near fatal crash, Erin [center] thanks the incredible first responders who cut her out from the wreckage and transported her to hospital
Erin Rollings in rehab 2Erin’s foot was damaged in the car crash. She is now able to walk independently but requires braces on her feet as certain nerves and muscles don’t work
‘I worry about the fact that my husband and I want to try and get pregnant in the next couple of years, but I will never be able to safely pick up my child once he or she grows beyond 15 pounds.
‘I was told that a C-section is the only safe option for delivery, but a C-section will cut through the abdominal reconstruction, so my plastic surgeon would have to be present at the birth to close my abdomen properly.’
Remaining optimistic has helped Mrs Rollins to recover much of her movement and in October 2016 she walked down the aisle to marry her husband.
Mrs Rollins said she has amazed many doctors after surviving so many obstacles which almost led to her death.
Four years after the crash, she went to meet the incredible firefighters who helped remove her from the wreckage and take her to hospital.
On the day of the drunk driver’s sentencing, just weeks before the wedding, Mrs Rollins forgave the driver and even hugged her in the court.
She said: ‘People assume that because I’ve forgiven the drunk driver and maintained a good attitude, it means that everything is okay, but it’s not. The grief is real and will last a lifetime.
‘You may not be in control of what happens to you, but you are in control of how you respond. Bad things happen to good people and you can choose to lie down and take it, or you can choose to fight.’
 
 

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