ronschreck
Well Known Member
Many of you know Trish Russell. She flew with the West Coast Ravens and has attended a number of formation clinics across the country. She retired from teaching last year and moved from California to North Carolina with husband Mark. They are building a beautiful home just two doors down the street from me at Gold Hill Airpark.
On September 30th Trish Russell was rushed to the hospital. She had an AVM in her brain that ruptured. An AVM (arteriovenous malformation) is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. It’s a congenital condition; she always had it and never knew until it ruptured. Trish had brain surgery on October first. They removed a portion of her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain and because the rupture was repaired quickly there is a high probability that Trish will make a full recovery. I visited Trish on the day after her release from the NICU. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t open her eyes and had lost all movement on her left side. We conversed via a white board. I visited her in the hospital three weeks later and was amazed at the progress. Her eyes were open and she was talking and talking and talking! Very slight movement on her left side gave her hope that she would be walking before long and perhaps even returning the left seat of her RV-6A. Through it all Trish’s husband, Mark and daughter Angelie have been by her side night and day. Their support and encouragement and Trish’s determination are all centered on one goal: getting her back in the cockpit.
Yesterday I flew Trish’s RV-6A. It had been sitting since before her brain surgery and Trish wanted to make sure it had some exercise to keep it in good repair until she could take it up herself. When I returned to the hangar after a 30-minute hop Trish was making her way from the house. Trish’s doctors say her recovery could take years. I don’t think they know how determined she is. It’s only about a hundred feet from the house to the hangar. She’s walking with only a cane for support and the trip to the hangar took nearly ten minutes, but she not only made it to the airplane but with Herculean effort lifted herself into the cockpit! Her left hand is still immobile so it will be some time before she can solo but I promised to take her up with me next week. Big SMILE here!
On September 30th Trish Russell was rushed to the hospital. She had an AVM in her brain that ruptured. An AVM (arteriovenous malformation) is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. It’s a congenital condition; she always had it and never knew until it ruptured. Trish had brain surgery on October first. They removed a portion of her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain and because the rupture was repaired quickly there is a high probability that Trish will make a full recovery. I visited Trish on the day after her release from the NICU. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t open her eyes and had lost all movement on her left side. We conversed via a white board. I visited her in the hospital three weeks later and was amazed at the progress. Her eyes were open and she was talking and talking and talking! Very slight movement on her left side gave her hope that she would be walking before long and perhaps even returning the left seat of her RV-6A. Through it all Trish’s husband, Mark and daughter Angelie have been by her side night and day. Their support and encouragement and Trish’s determination are all centered on one goal: getting her back in the cockpit.
Yesterday I flew Trish’s RV-6A. It had been sitting since before her brain surgery and Trish wanted to make sure it had some exercise to keep it in good repair until she could take it up herself. When I returned to the hangar after a 30-minute hop Trish was making her way from the house. Trish’s doctors say her recovery could take years. I don’t think they know how determined she is. It’s only about a hundred feet from the house to the hangar. She’s walking with only a cane for support and the trip to the hangar took nearly ten minutes, but she not only made it to the airplane but with Herculean effort lifted herself into the cockpit! Her left hand is still immobile so it will be some time before she can solo but I promised to take her up with me next week. Big SMILE here!
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