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<\/p>\nDay on the beach \u2013 Done<\/p>\n
A quick trip to Waldbaum\u2019s Shop \u2013 Wrapped up<\/p>\n
Nails \u2013 Awesome looking!<\/p>\n
Devastate and destroy the life of a complete stranger because of the choices one makes \u2013 Irreversible<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how Cathy Dubas describes the day of the offender, who spent the day drinking on the beach when she crashed into Karen Labarbera. The mother of two was left with a loss of a leg up to her thigh, the sight in one eye, brain capacity and the life she had been living.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a real survivor,\u201d said Cathy, who suffers from PTSD due to the crash and results. \u201cShe just does what she has to do. Our entire family has been impacted. Her children lost the mother they knew. We will never get over this.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Crash<\/strong><\/p>\n On a beautiful summer evening, Karen enjoyed a ride on her motorcycle.<\/p>\n Suddenly, out of nowhere, a vehicle t-boned her. The driver\u2019s blood alcohol concentration was .20.<\/p>\n The injuries were severe, so severe the first responders weren\u2019t sure that even air lifting her out would save her life. Her femoral artery was bleeding. Her lungs collapsed. And she went into cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew when I got the call that the news was bad. I tried to delay. I took the longest route to the hospital,\u201d said Cathy.<\/p>\n Karen flat-lined once. Twice.<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment I arrived, I was immediately asked to authorize putting a bolt in the brain of my only sister,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one should have to make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis was bad,\u201d she said. \u201cActually, this was horrible. Then, I had to make the saddest calls of my life to my family.\u201d<\/p>\n The Damage<\/strong><\/p>\n Karen\u2019s story, unlike more than 10,000 people a year, doesn\u2019t end at the crash. She is one of the nearly 300,000 people who survive, who move forward despite the overwhelming pain, emotional distress and challenges.<\/p>\n Karen had 23 surgeries in 25 days while she was in a coma.<\/p>\n The list of injuries goes on and on:<\/p>\n Broken nose<\/p>\n Pins in her left wrist<\/p>\n Staph infections<\/p>\n Broken teeth<\/p>\n Shattered Shoulder<\/p>\n Brain damage<\/p>\n A cyst in her leg<\/p>\n \u201cWatching my sister, day after day in the trauma unit, was the most heart-wrenching thing I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d she said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to let her die alone. Day after day, surgery after surgery, we never knew if it would be her last.\u201d<\/p>\n