MOVING FORWARD WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Crash victim Tina Lyon-Adams is one of four John Abbott College students who were recently presented with an Outstanding Service Award.
Give a talk to a room full of millennials and you might notice a head or two bent over mobile devices. Unless it’s Tina Lyon-Adams talking. Then all eyes are on the poised 22-year-old as she talks about the dangers of distracted driving and driving under the influence.
It’s a hard message to sell. The infallibility of youth and all that.
But Adams goes a long way to set things straight.
June 12 at 7 p.m. will mark the second anniversary of a tragedy that both crushed her body and destroyed her career plans. A driver careened into her while she was jogging along Cambridge Street in Hudson. It was still daylight. She was jogging with a buddy along the shoulder of a quiet residential street. She was facing oncoming traffic.
She was hit four houses away from the family home. They had just moved in and were still unpacking boxes.
Adams doesn’t remember anything about the massive hit that left her with a cracked skull, a blood clot on the brain, fractured spine, two punctured lungs, fractured ribs and internal bleeding. Ligaments in her right knee were turned into mush and her pelvis and both hips were destroyed.
The first firefighter on the scene didn’t think she’d survive the night.
Adams began walking without crutches in February and has recovered enough to begin speaking to students at John Abbott College in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue about her ordeal. She has volunteered her time to a number of causes over the years. The talks dovetailed nicely with her push to remain active, positive and helpful.
She starts each talk with the screening of a video she produced showing her life as an active, athletic student enrolled in the police technology program at the college, the horrific accident scene, footage of her massive injuries and the slow rehabilitation process. Recovery hit a wall one year ago after her right knee became infected. It’s required six surgeries so far and will need more.
“The first time I spoke to students I was really nervous, but now I feel much more relaxed,” Adams said. “Ever since the crash, I do things even if they scare me. I set goals and I meet them.”
On April 25, Adams was one of four students presented with the John Abbott College Outstanding Service Award.
Marc-André Lavigne was honoured for his heightened engagement with campus activities including helping out with the entrance exams for the police technology program, the school newspaper Bandersnatch and the Harassment Awareness Committee.
Mature student Ngozi Oke Chinedu was honoured for establishing the thriving Black Student Association.
Sophia Ye was honoured for her award-winning work as secretary general of the John Abbott Model United Nationals Club and her help organizing the school’s largest JACMUN event.
Adams has undergone 16 operations so far. She lives with constant pain, but doesn’t complain. Sitting and standing still are painful, so she paces. Remembering instructions is still a challenge.
Jordan Xavier Taylor faces multiple charges in connection with the crash including dangerous driving causing bodily harm, leaving the scene of the accident, impaired driving and criminal negligence causing bodily harm. He’s also charged with possession of marijuana.
Taylor has pleaded not guilty. A trial date has yet to be announced.
“I don’t think about him,” Adams said. “You can’t be angry at someone for your whole life. It drains you.”
For part of the interview she perched on the hospital bed that’s still set up in the family living room. She can walk downstairs to her bedroom now, at least until the next operation.
At her feet is her rescue dog Bear, a golden lab with eyes only for Adams.
Adams always jogged with Bear. But the night of the crash, it looked like rain and she’d just bathed him, so she left him at home. Adams is thankful for her last-minute decision, because she doesn’t think he would have survived the impact. During her stay at the hospital, Bear was allowed to visit twice.
Adams sailed through her first year in the police technology program at John Abbott College. Being a police officer was her No. 1 dream. Plan B was firefighting. Plan C was teaching gym.
All three plans are now off the table. High-impact physical exercise is out of the question for the rest of her life.
“I’m on medical leave right now, but I have applied to start back to school in June,” Adams said.
“I want to finish and (the college) said it would work around my surgeries so that I can complete my studies.”
Adams has yet to choose a new career path. First she’ll finish CEGEP and her rehabilitation. Then she will focus on her future. One determined step at a time.