CASPER, Wyo. — Kyleen Stevenson-Braxton was just settling in for a nail appointment at a local salon when her daughter Maria called to say she was on her way.
School had just let out for the day and Maria, an NCHS junior, walked to her car as she often did.
“She called me and said, ‘I’m on my way,'” recalls Kyleen. “Five minutes later I get another call from her phone.”
Except it wasn’t Maria’s voice she heard, it was NCHS coach Shawn Eisenreich with news that no parent wants to imagine. Maria had been hit by a car.
According to Kyleen, on Monday, January 30, the floor mat on another student’s vehicle had slipped over the gas pedal, causing the car to accelerate forward as the driver frantically tried to apply the breaks. Maria was walking on the sidewalk at the NCHS athletic building when the car jumped the curb and pinned her against the wall for several seconds.
School staff and students immediately rushed to her aid as ambulances were called.
“I had just gotten off the phone with her; I couldn’t comprehend it,” she said, “and from that moment on all I could think about was getting to her.”
Kyleen left the salon and rushed the few blocks to NCHS, frantically looking for her daughter. She found her being comforted by school staff and in excruciating pain.
She was transported to the Wyoming Medical Center’s ER, where she was stabilized and put through imaging. There, doctors diagnosed her with a condyle fracture of the femur. Kyleen said doctors likened it to how a grape creases and breaks when it’s crushed, causing multiple fractures around the circumference.
She underwent surgery the following morning, in which her knee was partially repaired and her leg was put into a fixator. A follow-up surgery scheduled for next week will pin the fractured bones back together. One of the fractures is attached to a key ligament, “so they’re not sure if they can reattach the bone without damaging the ligament,” Kyleen said.
The good news — thanks to her youth and athleticism — is Maria should be able to lead a normal, full life. However, there are still unanswered questions.
“Our biggest concern is will she dance again,” said Kyleen, adding that Maria started dancing when she was 8. “She’s danced competitively since she was 13; she takes 11 dance classes in a week and has for three years.”
A mere three days before the accident, Maria competed with the NCHS dance team in the Wyoming State Spirit Competition. Dancing is something she’d been doing nearly her whole life.
“It’s heartbreaking.”
The family lives upstairs in a historic downtown building above their business, which makes it very difficult to get Maria in and out of the residence in her condition. She’ll need assistance leaving home for medical appointments, and is doing some schooling via a tutor and remote learning. Kyleen says they hope to get Maria back in class as soon as possible, and are looking to install a motorized chair for their stairs.
Even with all of this, Kyleen says her daughter has taken everything in stride. There are moments of sadness and frustration after losing her independence, and the pain is often intense. However, she’s been able to keep a positive and upbeat attitude about the ordeal.
“I’m kind of in awe,” said Kyleen. “She’s just been a warrior.”
Kyleen has also been happily amazed at the community’s response to the incident. “It’s just been an amazing outpouring of support,” said Kyleen. Flowers, letters and texts have poured in, even from people she’s never met. Earlier this week, the family was told that Pathfinder Physical Therapy offered to donate their time and facility during Maria’s full recovery period.
Kyleen is still haunted by what might have happened to Maria. It’s not lost on her that the outcome from an accident like this could’ve been truly devastating.
However, she’s staying focused on the positives while facing Maria’s recovery ahead.
“There are so many positives,” she said. “There are so many things that have happened that have given us so much hope.”
