My Name is Jillian and I am a traumatic injury survivor.
I can tell you that I never in a million years thought this would be my story. About 2 years ago I was crossing a crosswalk with my dog, walking her before work and I was hit by a distracted driver. He had taken his hands and eyes off the road.
I had an emergency brain surgery to save my life and 2 pelvis surgeries that have allowed me to go on and live a normal life. But I am one of the lucky ones. Statistics say that less than 1 in 10 people survive an accident like I had. And often those who do survive cannot go back to their normal lives due to injuries from the accident. I am one of the lucky ones. I was able to go to back to my pre-accident life, without pain and go on to have a daughter. Sometimes it takes something like this to put things in perspective for you. It has not been easy.
But it is and I DETERMINED to turn my MESS into my MESSAGE. Tomorrow I am speaking at World Day of Remembrance for pedestrian crash victims. Every time I speak at one of these events, I am the only living victim. Most other speakers are family members who lost someone. As hard as it is, I am speaking for all those who can’t. Who’s voices won’t ever be heard again.
Please drivers, just slow down. Hang up. Drive present. Do it for this child & his family, & do it for yours.
Very sobering image
In honor of this day, silhouettes are being placed at the scene of crashes that took a life. It’s sending a very strong message. If you want to learn more about World Day of Remembrance just click here and join us!