Woman’s survival after accident wows doctors

Turkish woman hit by car in Sandusky, suffered brain injury.

The miraculous survival of a 19-year-old Turkish woman has touched the hearts of the entire trauma department at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center.

The medical professionals, who see horrendous injuries every day, are stunned by the recovery of Zaide Guler Narmanli, an international exchange worker, after she was hit by a car in Sandusky and sustained massive brain injuries.

Narmanli, who was a seasonal lifeguard at Great Wolf Lodge, doesn’t remember the incident. Her last memory was leaving a local market on her bike on July 3.

She was riding her bicycle at Camp and Pierce streets when she was struck by a vehicle that night, said Sgt. Eric Short from the Sandusky Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.

The driver, a 27-year-old Sandusky woman, initially fled the scene but was found by police two days later and has confessed, Short said. He expects charges to be filed against the driver within the next week. The driver’s identity will be released once she is charged. She faces possible felony hip-skip charges as well charges for driving with a suspended license, he said.

“We now know Zaide is going to make it. That was one of the things we were waiting on,” he said.

After the accident, Narmanli was transported by air ambulance to St. Vincent for treatment. “Everybody who saw the CT scan did not expect her to survive — that’s how critical it was,” said Dr. John Leskovan, trauma surgeon.

Her brain was swelling and there were multiple areas of bleeding and bruising inside.

The only way they could save her life was to perform a decompressive craniectomy, where part of the skull is removed to alleviate the pressure, Dr. Leskovan said.

Narmanli’s sister, Fatma, had traveled with her from Turkey and was the only family by her side. She was also working at the Sandusky swim resort as a housekeeper.

Narmanli was transferred to a hospital in Istanbul last week to complete her recovery.