“Alex was driving on Route K, turning onto Old Plank Road on the way to school,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know really how it happened — if we were going over a hill or if maybe the sun was in the way, but the dump truck hit my side of the car, and [the truck] was full of rocks and stuff.”
Rodriguez is unable to recall much of what occurred during the wreck or the ambulance ride to the hospital.
“I just don’t really remember [the accident]. I don’t remember any of the ride to the hospital either. I know I was awake, but my brain must have just blocked it all out,” Rodriguez said. “So I honestly have no idea what happened. I only know what happened from what people have told me.”
However, Jones has a more vivid memory of the crash. The collision caused both vehicles to go off the road, resulting in major damage to both vehicles.
“It was pretty rough. I felt helpless, and there was nothing I could do, so it was an incredibly long time to wait,” Jones said.
The University of Missouri—Columbia Hospital admitted Jones, Rodriguez and the truck driver. The doctors reported both the truck driver and Jones’ injuries as minor but Rodriguez sustained more extensive injuries.
Rodriguez suffered a broken ankle, femur and pelvis. She was hospitalized for seven days, missed the first two days of school and the two weeks after. She will also be in a wheelchair for two weeks.
Despite her wounds, Rodriguez makes the best of the situation and appreciates all of the help given to her.
“I have had a lot of really good support from all of my family and friends. The doctors have been really helpful, and they have said I’ll make a full recovery, so it’s really nice,” Rodriguez said. “On my first day of school back, people were excited to see me and see that I was doing well.”
Rodriguez also received much-needed support from her family and friends during her stay in the hospital.
“It was weird with everyone talking about Catie,” senior Kelsey Garnatz said. “I made sure that she knew I would help her when she came back to school because otherwise it would have probably been rough for her.”
The bond between Rodriguez and friends helped her to recover faster and remain positive through her recuperation. Without the support, Rodriguez doesn’t believe her injuries would have remained as controllable as they were.
“There were a ton of people who came to see me — obviously my parents came and also people from my swim team and friends from school came too,” Rodriguez said. “It’s also really good and comforting to know that there are people who are actually thinking about me and that really does help me to stay strong.”
The support she receives from the people who surround her helps her create a better attitude. This will help Rodriguez as she battles with her injuries to get back on the swim team.
“It’ll be hard to get back into the swing of things once I start back into it, but swimming will be really good therapy,” Rodriguez said. “I’ll be able to swim again once all my cuts heal, so I’ll probably get back in two weeks.”
Since Rodriguez swims backstroke and distance, she will need time and practice to regain her strength and endurance in the water. Because of Rodriguez’s time out of the pool, she is motivated to return to swimming and rejoin the RBHS team as soon as possible. Even with her time away, she feels confident that she will quickly return to swimming
“Hopefully I can immediately go back and swim as hard as I can, but I know that I probably won’t be able to do everything. I swim the mile so it will be pretty hard to build back up my endurance, but I’ll get there soon enough,” Rodriguez said. “I just try to always stay positive because I know the more I fight through it and work through it the faster my recovery will be and the faster things will go back to the way they were.”
By Blake Becker