Paraplegic, husband recovering from crash

Dec. 20--To be paralyzed once during a lifetime is a tragedy. But to be paralyzed a second time after being able to move one's legs and even stand again after six years is an unspeakable loss.

That's where Starla Hilliard Barnes finds herself after she, her husband, Shannon, and their 3-year-old daughter Elissiah were in a vehicle accident in Denver last month.

They're at home in Kalispell recovering and are trying their best to find a silver lining to their plight. The crash put Starla back to square one, with no feeling in the lower half of her body.

Yet even while they were still hospitalized in Denver, inherently upbeat Starla posted on Facebook: "Severe pain, but we are alive and that is what matters."

Ironically, the couple and their daughter were in Denver so Starla could begin a rehabilitation program they hoped would allow her to walk again. She had been chosen to be an ambassador for the new paralysis recovery center, Project Walk Denver, because of her advocacy work.

The day before the accident, she was photographed standing at the recovery center.

They were stopped on a Denver street when they were rear-ended by an inattentive driver going 70 mph.

Starla's specialized wheelchair, which was in the bed of the pickup they were driving, was obliterated in the crash. The flying debris struck Shannon in the head. He suffered a subdural hematoma and continues to battle double vision, memory loss, migraine headaches, nausea and low sodium levels, all effects of brain injury.

Doctors say the symptoms will last about six months, but some aspects of the brain injury could be permanent.

"Each head injury has its own characteristics," Shannon explained.

It's unclear when or if he will be able to resume working at his construction job.

It was a miracle, the couple agreed, that Elissiah was not injured in the crash, because her car seat crumbled in the wreck and by all rights her legs should have been broken.

"She must have lifted her legs at the last moment" before impact, Shannon speculated.

Though the 3-year-old was spared from physical injury, she's going through post-traumatic stress, Starla said. Instead of sleeping through the night as she had routinely done, Elissiah now wakes during the night and must make sure both her mother and father are still there and are OK.

Starla had made incredible progress since she was paralyzed from the waist down in a hit-and-run accident six years ago.

She almost lost her life in that crash when a white Chevy Silverado ran a red light in downtown Kalispell, struck her and then sped away without stopping to see how badly injured she was. The hit-and-run driver never was found.

Starla was thrown about 20 feet from her sport bike. Several of her vertebrae were broken, along with her collarbone, left shoulder blade and all of her ribs. Both lungs were punctured, and the force of the helmet crushed part of her face, causing extensive damage that would be remedied by a metal plate placed between her eye and nose.

She was in a drug-induced coma following the 2009 crash and spent close to three months at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Following the accident that left her a paraplegic, Starla persevered with an undaunted spirit. She was determined to regain her independence and through the help of family members was able to get a truck equipped with special controls to allow her to drive.

Her custom-fitted, $9,000 wheelchair -- destroyed in the accident -- was a big help in getting around.

The ups and downs of being a paraplegic never deterred her, though.

"I've always felt from the beginning that there's always someone who has it worse than I do," she said during a 2013 interview. "I still have my arms. I can hug."

Shannon and Starla were married on Dec. 11, 2011. They spent their recent wedding anniversary quietly at home -- both in pain, but nevertheless grateful.

As she often does, Starla shared her feelings on Facebook: "Shannon is so cute. He goes, 'I wish I could take you somewhere for our anniversary if I could drive or at least go get something.' Shannon, the best anniversary gift you could've given me is that you remembered our anniversary. Since his memory has been off this means more than you know. Appreciate the little things."

Being pregnant and paralyzed also was a challenge. Starla was in and out of the hospital during the pregnancy, and the spasms she experienced caused her to fall out of her wheelchair multiple times.

Right around the time she got married, Starla had begun to experience some feeling in her hips and legs. Because the damage to her spinal cord was considered "incomplete," doctors told her has a 50-50 chance of one day walking again.

Even though the latest accident has left her unable to feel anything in her legs once again, she remains hopeful.

"Shannon and I are holding out hope that if I could do it once before, I can do it again," she said.

Starla has other lingering effects from the Denver crash. She has back pain and suffers from painful pressure sores because her borrowed wheelchair doesn't properly fit her.

"I'd never had pressure sores before the [Denver] accident," she said. "You can't sit on them or they get worse. You have to lay down and keep moving positions."

Several of her teeth were cracked in the accident and need to be fixed and capped.

On top of the injuries, dealing with the insurance company of the driver at fault has been troublesome, they said. They've already learned the company that owned the medical van the driver was using when he crashed into them doesn't have a big enough insurance policy to cover all of their medical expenses.

Over the past couple of years Shannon and Starla have traveled around the country giving motivational speeches about overcoming obstacles and keeping a positive attitude in the face of adversity.

They started Moving Forward Adaptive Sports, a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that gives opportunities for disabled athletes to participate in sled hockey, hand cycling and other activities.

They credit many friends for keeping Moving Forward going while they're recovering. April Clemente, Melissa Mower, Erica Stevens and Emily Myers are among those helping, along with Matt Sather, who handles the sled hockey events.

Family members have been a huge help, they noted. Starla's mother, Wendy Hilliard, flew to Denver to care for Elissiah after the accident.

Wendy said she couldn't believe they survived the crash once she saw the extensive damage to the pickup.

Her husband, Zeph, had let them use the new one-ton pickup, and police officers said the family's injuries would have been much worse, even fatal, in a smaller vehicle.

"We're very thankful," Wendy said. "God is good. We can replace the truck, but we can't replace our children."

Anyone wanting to help with financial assistance may donate online at www.gofundme.com/5pwu9g or checks may be sent to Shannon and Starla Barnes in care of Matt Downing State Farm Insurance, 445 Main St., Kalispell, MT 59901.

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Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.

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