Months later, family continues to recover from accident

Jan. 30--SEBRING -- It was late evening Nov. 9 when Isamar Garcia, who was around eight months pregnant, started feeling stomach pains.

Concerned about the pregnancy, Giovanny Gabriel Garcia, the baby's father, drove her to Highlands Regional Medical Center.

The hospital told the parents the baby was doing fine, Giovanny Garcia recalled Friday.

But everything changed for the worse after that. On the way back, the family got into a horrific car accident; their son, Ezekiel, was born without a pulse and the mother suffered painful injuries and a long recovery.

On Friday, the family was clearly moving forward.

"It's been a journey," Giovanny Garcia said.

The mother remembers very little of what happened.

But, as the days go by, Ezekiel makes progress, becoming more active and breathing on his own.

Richard Espildora, the driver of the other vehicle remains in jail. His charges include driving under the influence, first offense, and two counts of driving under the influence causing property/personal damage.

Espildora has served prison time for grand theft and for smuggling Cubans into the United States. He has also been charged with numerous traffic offenses.

Andres Oliveros, the attorney for the family, said he expects to file a civil lawsuit against Espildora within the next couple of weeks.

For Giovanny Garcia, who survived the accident with the least serious injuries, the memories remain fresh.

He said he was driving on Highlands Avenue near Youth Care Lane when he saw another vehicle swerving in and out of lanes.

When the vehicle swerved into the lane where Garcia was traveling, Garcia said, he couldn't avoid getting hit.

The vehicle impacted the side where Isamar Garcia was seated. As a result, she suffered a broken pelvis.

When she arrived at the hospital, doctors performed an emergency C-section and Ezekiel was born, the father said.

"He was born without a pulse," the father said. "Highlands Regional brought him back to life."

After the baby was stabilized, Ezekiel was taken by ambulance to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, as the weather prevented a helicopter flight, the father said.

At one point, medical personnel told him the baby had suffered brain damage and would likely never have the ability to talk or walk, he said. They wanted him to decide whether the hospital would continue providing full care or to see how the baby would survive without tubes.

"I didn't know what to think," he said. "I wasn't going to make a rash decision."

For the next several weeks, Giovanny Garcia said, he traveled daily to both St. Petersburg and a hospital in Orlando where the mother was taken.

During the first two weeks, the father said, when he visited Ezekiel, the baby showed very little outward signs of life. "He was not moving; he was not crying," the father added. "He was pretty much fighting for his life."

He said Ezekiel had a breathing tube.

It took nearly two weeks before he picked up Ezekiel with his hands, he said. But, he added, the baby remained still although Ezekiel tried to open his eyes.

After he arrived home in Sebring that evening, he recalled, he got a call that Ezekiel had begun crying and moving. That meant everything.

The mother said after the accident she went in and out of consciousness and remembers little of what happened. She would not get to see her baby for more than three weeks.

A lot of that time, the father said, his wife would constantly ask about the baby .

But he didn't tell her the critical condition of the baby, fearing it could impact her recovery.

"Her pain was excruciating," he said.

The mother remained in the hospital up to Dec. 8, the day after she had been originally scheduled to give birth.

Her departure was delayed for a while until the hospital provided her with a wheelchair.

Now, she says, she walks, but the cold weather exacerbates the remaining pain she feels when she walks.

The family continues to face other challenges. Oliveros said Espildora had a valid driver's license but no insurance.

The Garcias' vehicle was totaled and the money provided by their own insurance didn't pay off the financing.

Even without having a car and still dealing with some medical issues for Ezekiel, the family has made progress.

"We're still not as far as we wish we could be," Giovanny Garcia said.

jmeisel@highlandstoday.com

(863) 386-5834

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