Amanda Has a Word for Her Recovery

After nearly three silent months in a coma, Amanda Arthur on Thursday used one word, barely audible, to sum up a recovery so impressive that a team of doctors and piles of medical reports cannot fully explain it.

“Wonderful,” she whispered, gazing at the bouquet of microphones and crowd of strangers that clustered around her.

And then, in a giddy burst of nervousness not uncommon for girls her age, Amanda, 17, flashed the picture-perfect smile for which she is loved.

“My daughter, she truly is a miracle,” said Chris Maese, swabbing tears that streamed down her cheeks. “God is doing mighty work here.”

Amanda, a cheerleader and pep squad captain at Newport Harbor High School, was critically injured in a car wreck May 23 that killed an 18-year-old classmate, Donald Bridgman.

She was one of 10 school buddies who were squeezed into a speeding Chevrolet Blazer that overturned on a curving road along Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach.

Felony vehicular manslaughter charges have been filed against Jason Rausch, 18, who was the designated driver at the time because other underage youths were drinking alcohol. He has pleaded not guilty.

The charges, which could send Rausch to prison for six years if he is convicted, have divided the community. But Newport Beach and Costa Mesa residents have remained united in their support of Amanda, holding fund-raisers for the family and praying for her recovery.

Comatose since the crash, Amanda spoke for the first time last week, uttering a simple “Hi!” to her stunned and sobbing mother. Doctors and physical therapists have been working with Amanda at Meridian Neuro Care Center here since June 30, when she was transferred from Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

The teenage patient is now able to brush her hair, walk short distances with help and speak in simple sentences, a development her doctors call “remarkable.”

Last week, she dressed in her cheerleading uniform to pose for a photograph with the rest of the squad.

“We knew from the beginning Amanda had the potential to recover,” said Bill Rowlett, a respiratory therapist and director of Meridian Neuro Care. “She just had a spark in her eyes, a lightness.”

Physical therapist Bruce Kuluris said that while most patients who have suffered brain injury show significant progress in the first year, Amanda’s improvement has already been exceptional. The crash injured the part of her brain that regulates such vital functions as blood pressure and body temperature.

“She’s progressing quickly, very fast,” Kuluris said. “It’s very exciting.”

Tiffani Arthur, who wheeled her younger sister out to the hospital patio Thursday, beamed as Amanda, who turns 18 next month, quietly declared her birthday wish: a visit from the cast of her favorite TV show, “Beverly Hills 90210.”

“She’s amazing, she’s coming along so well,” Tiffani Arthur said. “If you miss coming here for two days, you miss out.”

Still, Amanda’s recuperation has just begun, the doctors warned.

It started two weeks ago, when nurses noticed that Amanda’s eyes were following the movement of people in her room. Since regaining speech, she has rapidly developed other motor skills, doctors said.

Yet much of the right side of her body remains paralyzed and she is unable to maintain her balance. She is months, perhaps years, from a full recovery, they said.

“Amanda’s made phenomenal progress, but it’s extremely important that she continue her rehabilitation,” said Linda Lee, another Meridian therapist. “The fight isn’t over yet.”

But the worst part is over, Amanda’s mother stressed.

The aching and the wondering that has plagued their family since that night, a night that began as a carefree celebration but ended in grief, disappeared in an instant, when the curly-haired girl so many were pulling for came back to them.

“I know in my heart that when she was in a coma, God was ministering to her the whole time,” Maese said. “And this whole time I tried to rely on biblical reports and not the medical reports. But I’m so thankful [God] gave her back.”

Also attending Amanda’s emotional debut Thursday was Vickie Bridgman, whose son died in the crash.

Bridgman said Amanda’s recovery is a “rare beam of light” and stood quietly to the side as Amanda spoke.

“It is so important that Amanda gets well,” said Bridgman, choking back tears as she clutched a collection of snapshots of her son in a photo album labeled “My Angel.”

“We don’t need this to be any darker than it already has been. For everyone, this has been a tragedy,” she said.

Through his defense attorney, Rausch--the teen behind the wheel at the time of the crash--said he was elated by his friend’s recovery.

“He’s absolutely thrilled with her progress,” said attorney Jennifer L. Keller, who said her client regularly visits Amanda’s bedside, and would sometimes read Bible passages to her. “He has told me from the beginning that the Lord would heal her.”

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Where to Send Help

Donations to the Amanda Arthur Recovery Fund may be sent to P.O. Box 3192, Newport Beach, CA 92659. The money will be used to pay for Amanda’s ongoing rehabilitative care, which costs about $500 a day. The family does not have medical insurance. A fund-raiser will be held next month at the grand opening of the new Fletcher Jones Motorcar site.

The family of Donald Bridgman, who died in the May 23 car accident, has set up a scholarship fund in his name. The 18-year-old would have been a freshman at the University of Colorado this fall. Donations may be made at Great Western Bank branches in Costa Mesa.