Support Anna's Recovery from a Tragic Car Accident

Today is June 27, 2023. Three months ago, on Monday, March 27, 2023, our 18-year-old daughter Anna Deaver was involved in a devastating car accident on her way home from work. She was a high school senior and had a part-time job hostessing and waitressing at a local restaurant. The nearly-head-on collision occurred directly in front of our house. My wife Karen and I were both home at the time and we heard the accident happen. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the sound of the impact.

Anna was rushed to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center where she was intubated and put on a ventilator. Even though she was wearing her seatbelt and all airbags deployed, she had multiple broken bones including fractures to the base of her skull, and a collapsed right lung. The worst injury, however, was the trauma to her brain. Anna was not expected to survive that first night. She did live, however, and that began an aggressive course of treatment to help stabilize the pressures on her brain. Due to restricted blood flow to her brain, she had multiple strokes and was spiraling downward. By the end of that week, we were again told that she could die any day. Every morning we arrived at the hospital expecting that day to be her last.

Fortunately, through the combination of aggressive medical treatment, Anna’s will to live, and lots and lots of prayers from family and friends, she made it through another week. By the end of the second week, her intracranial pressures had come under some control. That was Easter Sunday.

Over the next six weeks in intensive care, Anna had several surgeries to set broken bones, dealt with blood clots in her legs and her brain, spent time on kidney dialysis, suffered a recollapse of her right lung, and had multiple bouts of pneumonia. All the while, she remained in a coma and on a ventilator. Finally, eight demanding weeks after the accident, she was stable enough to move out of the intensive care unit and into a rehab center. The medical team at the hospital was incredible, and we appreciate all that they did for Anna.

Today is three months since her accident and Anna is still in a coma and on a ventilator. She has been receiving respiratory therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and coma stimulation. She has been showing small and steady improvements, but she still has a long way to go.

Anna is an artist, a musician, and an academic. She is a faithful young lady with a relationship with God and a heart for the environment. And she loves ducks! Her college plan was to attend Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia this fall for a program in landscape architecture. She wants to work rehabilitating decayed urban areas to bring them beauty and nature. The weekend before her accident, she played the role of Vi, the preacher’s wife, in her high school’s production of “Footloose.” It was a breakout performance!

Many have reached out and supported us in various ways. Karen and I thank you for this support and especially for your prayers for Anna, for us, and for her brother and sister. Many have offered to help and asked, “What do you need?” Often the reply has been, “I simply don’t know.”

It’s difficult to ask for financial support, but the potential future medical needs and therapy seems overwhelming. Contributions will assist Anna’s journey of recovery to cover medical bills, all types of physical therapy, home health equipment and modifications, and any other expenses that may arise.

Since the accident, we have been keeping everyone updated on Anna’s progress through CaringBridge. I invite you to read more about her journey and keep tabs at the following link: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/annadeaver. Anna is an incredible young lady, and we are doing the best we can for her.

May God bless you for any support you can provide,

Chris & Karen Deaver