“I was speeding. I went from pavement to gravel, an animal came out in front of me and I hit two trees.”
Brianna Walt, 19, was in a car accident April 6, 2005.
She sheared three sections of her brain, causing external bleeding through her ears, nose, eyes and mouth. While in the ambulance Walt died, but was resuscitated back to life.
Walt was in a coma for three months and spent six months in the hospital. The accident left permanent damage to her mentally and physically. She is now in an electric wheelchair with the right side of her body paralyzed. The injuries damaged her ability to speak clearly. Walt said she had to reteach herself how to move the left side of her body. She went through physical therapy, and she had to learn how to eat again.
After getting out of the hospital she had missed six months of school. She returned to her high school when she was in the 11th grade. She said kids were really weird to her so she transferred to a high school in Spokane.
“I took my placement test, and I scored high enough to graduate so I was able to graduate on time,” Walt said.
Before the accident Walt said she played basketball, and ran track and cross country. Now for fun, she goes to the movies and hangs out with friends.
“I am really just a simple girl,” Walt said.
Walt doesn’t let her disabilities stop her from, taking classes, socializing with the other students, making friends and working at the Disability Action Center (DAC) with other people who have disabilities.
“If the halls and doors were wider and the doors had the electric door openers it would be so much easier,” Walt said.
Getting around campus isn’t always easy in a wheelchair, especially when halls are packed with kids; you’ve got 10 minutes to get to class. You’re trying to make it through the crowd like everyone else. I am allowed to be late to class due to my disability, but I am always there on time, Walt said.
“Having a small campus makes it easier to get around, and I like that a lot, and they try and keep my classes as close as possible,” she said.
“Truthfully, people are really nice to me when I am in the wheelchair, and they do a lot for me,” Walt said. “But some people look at me funny and don’t treat me with respect because they just think that I am different.”
Walt does not require special attention in classes. She does not have learning disabilities, however, and some of her teachers have treated her as though she can’t handle the material, Walt said.
“Sometimes they will talk down to me or they think I can’t do the material because they think I am mentally handicapped, not physically,” Walt said.
Walt said she tries to explain to the teachers that it’s not mental and that she can handle the work, but that doesn’t always help because they don’t always listen. Walt said that even though she is trying to get used to it, it embarrasses her.
“When I have a teacher that treats me like the rest of the students, I feel like a normal person, and that makes me feel good,” Walt said.
As for the future, Walt said she wants to be a motivational speaker. Before the accident she wanted to be a physical therapist.
Walt expressed her gratitude for Sharon Bullock and Holly Edwards and support for disabled students and staff.
“Sharon Bullock and Holly Edwards have been very helpful,” Walt said. As for the students, “Keep on doing what you’re doing.”
