Rebuilding a body and a life

By Ashley Bach
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

Babe Watson will undergo rehabilitation.

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Watson, 55, a saleswoman from North Bend, was hit by a metal bar Aug. 9 while driving near Fall City. The bar was flung in the air by a passing vehicle and sliced through her windshield, hitting her face and flying out a passenger-side window.

She's in serious condition in the intensive-care unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, but the past several days have brought reasons for hope, her daughters and doctors say. After weeks in a drug-induced coma, she is communicating by mouthing words and acknowledging family members who have stayed by her side.

She asked them why she was in the hospital and was able to mouth, "I love you," said her daughters, Brenda Watson and Shawna Watson-Himple, in a meeting with reporters yesterday. "That was everything to me," Brenda Watson said.

On Tuesday, doctors realigned the tiny bones in her face that were broken in the accident; it was her second, and possibly final, major surgery. Last week, her jaw was fixed, and doctors began to wean her damaged lungs off a ventilator.

	KEN LAMBERT / THE TIMES, FILE PHOTO Shawna Watson-Himple, with husband Richard, said people have dropped off flowers and meals for her hospitalized mother.

It is unclear whether the accident left Watson with brain damage or vision problems, but after a long period of shock, her body is beginning to strengthen and heal, said Dr. Gregory Jurkovich, the hospital's chief of trauma. Her condition is "much more hopeful," he said.

Earlier this month, police received a tip from a business owner who said the piece of metal — a 7-pound leaf spring — may have fallen off one of the company's trailers. The State Patrol does not plan to pursue criminal charges because it can't prove anyone was negligent.

Because the case is not a criminal priority, it may take several months for the Patrol's crime lab to determine whether the spring came from one of the company's trailers, said State Patrol spokeswoman Kelly Spangler.

Watson's daughters, who pleaded for answers soon after the accident, said they were happy that the mystery could be solved — and because of a tip.

"It means there are decent people left in the world, and I appreciate it," Brenda Watson said. "There's no one out there we need to hate or be angry with."

Last week, the elder Watson and her family received a visit from Maria Federici, who was seriously injured in February when she was hit by road debris. Federici, 24, a University of Washington graduate, was blinded when a particleboard flew off a trailer in front of her and slammed through her windshield as she was driving on Interstate 405 near Renton.

Federici and her mother spoke to the Watsons and left a teddy bear and card. Watson's daughters said they were grateful. "Maria, you're one of the bravest, bravest people we've ever met," Brenda Watson said.

Other well-wishers have dropped off flowers and dinners at the hospital, Watson-Himple said. A doctor who was riding his bicycle near the accident and helped save Watson's life has called twice.

Medical expenses will likely be covered by insurance, the daughters said, but the family has set up an account in Watson's name at Washington Mutual to help with other costs.

Watson will probably spend another week in the hospital, including a few more days in the intensive-care unit, Jurkovich said. She also will need rehabilitation to relearn basic tasks, such as walking and eating.

Her family is thinking about the best.

"Knowing her, she'll be wanting to go home, get on her horse," Watson-Himple said. "Who knows?"

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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