Emerald G. Parsons: Greene Publishing, Inc.
A Madison County woman received serious injuries in a single vehicle wreck on Saturday, July 22.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) report Darla Carver, 36, was traveling southbound on Hwy. 53 South, in the vicinity of Highland Trail, at 9:17 a.m., when her 2004 Cadillac CTS sedan traveled off the roadway onto the west shoulder. Carver then overcorrected/oversteered to the left causing the Cadillac to rotate counterclockwise and travel across the center line and into the northbound travel lane. The vehicle continued traveling southwest onto the east shoulder of the roadway where it began overturning an undetermined number of times. The vehicle came to a final rest in an upright position, facing northeast.
Carver, a mother of two children (14 and 11), was transported by Madison County EMS to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH) with serious injuries.
Upon arrival at TMH and after completion of x-rays and a medical evaluation, she was rushed into emergency surgery, for a Chance Fracture to her vertebra. During the surgery, the doctors fused four vertebrae in her spine together and put three metal rods in place. Carver remained in ICU until Monday, July 24 when she was moved to a private room. She was released from the hospital on Thursday, July 27.
Carver says she is now in a brace from her hips to her shoulders, a front and back piece, in order to stabilize her torso. As bad as the wreck was, Carver remains upbeat and positive and says she has 100 percent movement, has no numbness or tingling and the outcome could have been much worse.
She would like to thank everyone for their prayers, thoughts, help and phone calls. She says, “Everything I need has been provided. From the sweet messages and words of encouragement, to the cooked dinners and the mowing of my grass; what could I possibly have to complain about?”
This Friday, Aug. 4, Carver will return to her doctor’s office to have her staples removed. She then will start hydrotherapy next week, to help strengthen her core muscles. She explains that she will have to wear a brace for three months at which point her doctors will decide if she needs additional physical therapy to re-train her body how to move without re-injuring herself again.
“I would like the thank the Madison County EMS and paramedics that were on scene of my wreck. They were so precise and cautious with everything they did with/for me. If they had made one wrong move I could have been paralyzed,” she said.
Per doctors’ orders, Carver will be out of work for the next three to six months. However, the doctors have said that a full recovery might possibly take 12 months, and only time will tell when she can fully return to work. Friends and family have opened up a benefit bank account, in order to help with financial needs and medical expenses, at Madison County Community Bank. Anyone can donate to this account by making a check payable to “Darla Carver Benefit Account” and dropping it by the bank or mailing it to P.O. Box 835, Madison, Fl. 32341.
“Living in a small town is like one big family where everyone pulls together to help each other. I just never imagined it would turn around and be me, that everyone was helping. I would just like to say “thank you,” again, to everyone for all the love and support that has been shown to me and my family,” said Carver.