Brandon Twp.- On Feb. 7, 2004, high school classmates and best friends Elizabeth Ash, 18, and Tiffany Lambiris, 16, had just put the finishing touches on some homemade Valentines.
After spending the night at Tiffany’s home, Elizabeth called her mother Linda Rieck to say she’d take Tiffany to work at nearby Cook’s Farm Dairy then be right home’about a two mile trek.
Elizabeth was heading west on Seymour Lake Road about a mile west of Sashabaw Road when the 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier she was driving skidded on a 15-foot patch of ice, crossed the center-line and collided with an oncoming pickup truck. Both Ash and Lambiris received serious injuries and were transported to Genesys Regional Medical Center.
Tiffany died during surgery a few hours later.
Elizabeth’s injuries were severe and included a traumatic brain injury, a severed spinal cord, and a deflated lung.
‘They told me, ‘this child is not waking up,?? said Rieck. ‘Still I read to her, sang to her and played music for her. I was by her side every minute. I left every three days for about an hour to go home, then return.?
Despite the rather dismal reports from doctors Elizabeth started showing signs of emerging for the coma.
‘About two weeks following the crash doctors told me she now had a 50-50 chance of surviving,? said Rieck. ‘The community was unbelievable and offered so much to us regarding moral support. At one point we had 103 messages of support in one day.?
Some of Elizabeth’s friends and family members decided that a visit from ‘Peace,? her 5-year-old paint-horse may help her recovery.
‘They considered bringing ‘Peace? into my hospital room,? laughed Elizabeth, a longtime horse enthusiast. ‘I don’t think my horse would make it on the elevator.?
While the horse never made it to her hospital room, Genesys staff members did allow Elizabeth to visit ‘Peace? outside in a grassy area behind the hospital.
On March 19 Elizabeth was transferred to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor for rehabilitative work on the muscles.When she arrived she couldn’t speak and was in the early stages of emerging from the coma.
‘The first weeks were hard,? said Rieck. Memory games, reaction time, for five days per week. Hand eye coordination’she was having a difficult time realizing that she was paralyzed. She couldn’t understand why. She told me she was going to ‘fight and survive I’m going to beat this.??
Bound to a wheelchair on May 13, after receiving special permission from doctors, Elizabeth attended the Brandon Senior Prom donning the dress purchased prior to the accident.
‘Some day I’m going to stand up and wear that dress and shoes again,? smiles Elizabeth.
Then on May 31, she graduated with the Brandon High School Class of 2004 at Meadowbrook.
‘I had taken some extra high school credit college courses,? said Elizabeth. ‘It just worked out I had a few extra classes and graduated with one-half a credit to spare.?
Today, with the help of Rieck and an electric wheelchair Elizabeth attends Oakland Community College, Auburn Hills.
While Elizabeth has improved, the transition has been difficult and very painful, said Rieck, from battles with insurance companies, to losing her job, to finding suitable housing.
‘Elizabeth’s wheelchair did not fit through the door on our mobile home where we lived,? said Rieck. ‘They couldn’t modify the opening due to the way it was constructed so we had to move.?
Since then, Elizabeth and her mother moved to an apartment in Auburn Hills and soon will have a new home.
‘I’m very determined to walk again. I’m in speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and pool therapy,? said Elizabeth. ‘Everyday I work at walking.?