– How one accident victim’s life has changed

By Telesha Ramnarine 

EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD Floretta Kim Spooner practically got a second chance at life after surviving a serious car accident last August that left her in a coma for three weeks. At this point in her life, there is no doubt in her mind that there are a few things that she needs to change about her lifestyle.

Born and raised at King Edward Street, Albouystown, in Georgetown, Floretta was enjoying a simple life with a job at Stella’s Diner on Robb Street, owned by Lucia Desir, who’s just like a mother to her and her other employees.

A typical teenager, Floretta enjoyed going out a lot to party with her boyfriend and friends, especially her best friend who was employed at a popular bar at the time. But their night didn’t end well on August 17, 2019. It was a Saturday night party and the group was heading home Sunday morning when tragedy struck.

Together with her boyfriend’s two brothers, her best friend, his best friend, and a few co-workers, they went to a party and around 03:00hrs, they left the party and were driving around looking for more places to have fun.

“The rain was set up; Palm Court was closed, so we said we would go home,” Floretta recalled during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine.

“We dropped my brothers-in-law down to the park, dropped my best friend in Sophia and while heading home on the East Coast, me and my boyfriend [started to fall] asleep and rain started falling. So he pulled up the windows and put on the AC,” she recalled.

That he put on the air conditioning was the last thing that Floretta remembered. Everything else had to be told to her after she came out of the coma. Her boyfriend’s best friend, who was driving, apparently nodded off and crashed into a container that was parked on the road.

It is not clear if the container was legally parked there, but Floretta said half of it was parked on the road, while the other half stretched into the grass on the parapet. “After a long day’s work, partying night time and into the morning, you would be sleepy,” she noted, but she equally acknowledged that it was unwise for them to be out so late when everyone was tired. “If you work all day and are tired, you shouldn’t be on the road; you should go home and sleep,” she said.

After coming out of the coma, Floretta couldn’t walk; she was bedridden and badly in need of therapy. In fact, it was not until October that her memory started to come back. She attempted to walk, but was advised that she might do more harm than good to herself.

So she started receiving therapy from the Ministry of Public Health’s Rehabilitation Department in the Palms compound. There, she received invaluable help from physiotherapists on how to begin walking again. It was mainly because of this help she received that she is now able to lead a normal life again.

“I was lucky. Fifty per cent of persons get out of a coma, and others spend longer times. Plus, most of the accidents that happened during the late part of last year, people died. Out of everyone I survived,” Floretta expressed.

While recovering, she had a lot of time at home to reflect on her life and how she can make better use of it once she recovers. She has since decided to cut back on going out, and says she prefers to party only on special occasions. “I had time at home to really think things through, to put myself in order and to think about what I will do and will not do when I recover.”

She is also advising her fellow youths to set a time limit when they are out, so that they can keep in mind a fixed time by which to stop partying. “Anyone can go and party; it’s not about drinking, but just keep a time limit because our bodies are accustomed to sleeping at night. Also, when you drink and sleep, you sleep really heavy and that is what I did and wake[sic] up three weeks later.”

Floretta’s experience has also shown her the need to spend less and to start saving. “I like to drink a lot of expensive drinks. So when I have money, I prefer to keep it and not spend it on alcohol. I throw two box hand and I throw money in my puzzling tin every week. I used to be spending a lot on clothes because I always have an event to go to. Now I am a more understanding, “chill” person than I was before. I am not angry anymore for no reason. I am at home all the time; you can talk to me and I would listen,” she said.

Furthermore, Floretta plans on working hard to improve her standard of living and will be taking up business management studies from September. She also wants to rewrite Mathematics at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination.
Meanwhile, the police did look into the matter, but the driver of the vehicle was not charged. According to Floretta, he does not drink alcohol and hence was not under the influence that night.