Accident victim's holiday wish: To walk again and go home

Tim Harlow, Star Tribune

Marilyn Bigbear in her bed at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

A Minneapolis woman's road to recovery from a freak incident in which a car pinned her against a brick wall and crushed her legs has meant nine trips to the operating room, and more surgeries are likely.

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: December 1, 2008 - 2:29 PM

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Marilyn Bigbear's holiday wish is a day pass to go home and be with her family. She'd settle for just being able to walk again.

Neither will happen anytime soon.

Bigbear, 53, is recovering from severe injuries she sustained in a freak incident more than a month ago when a car jumped over a barrier and pinned her against the outside brick wall of a south Minneapolis Walgreens. She suffered compound fractures to both shin bones and ligament damage to her left knee. She has undergone surgery nine times to repair the damage, and more surgeries are likely.

As she lay in her hospital bed at Hennepin County Medical Center with legs wrapped in bandages and held together with titanium rods and screws, tears well up in her eyes as she recounts the events of Oct. 28 and the prospects of being bedridden in room 388 for another six months.

"I can't put it into words," the stay-at-home mother of five children said while gazing out the window facing her south Minneapolis home. "I just want to be normal, I want to go home to my family. I just want to be up."

The last time Bigbear was able to walk or even get out of bed on her own was the night she went with her daughters, Dayna and Danielle, both 10, on a routine shopping trip to pick up school supplies and household items. As they left the Walgreens on the 200 block of W. Lake Street, a vehicle pulled into the parking lot. The female driver hit the gas pedal instead of the brake forcing the car over a barrier and pinning Bigbear against the wall and knocking Dayna down. Danielle was not hurt, police said.

The driver has not been charged, said Jesse Garcia, a Minneapolis Police Department spokesman.

Dayna Bigbear sustained a fractured ankle and was just released from the hospital last week. Marilyn still faces an uphill climb.

Dr. Patrick Yoon said Marilyn Bigbear's injuries were some of the worst he has seen, but is optimistic that she will be able to walk again.

"Physically she is doing okay, but she's not out of the woods yet." said Yoon, who has been an orthopedic surgeon at HCMC since 2004. "There could be blood clots or infections in the legs. We will have to monitor her medical condition."

Bigbear will have a few more surgeries to fix ligaments and soft tissue, and more will be necessary if she develops complications, Yoon said.

She also faces the possibility of stiffness and pain due to arthritis, and surgery will be necessary if bones don't fuse together properly. Then comes hours of physical therapy to learn how to walk again.

For now, Bigbear spends her days lying in bed watching TV and mostly thinking about how quickly she can get home to the family and do things such as cook Christmas dinner.

"That is the hardest part of all this, not being able to be with the family," she said. If things go well, "I hope I can get a pass to go home for a day."

Donations to help the Bigbear family cover medical expenses can be made at Wells Fargo banks.