My name is Brandie... I am 29 years old and this is my story that changed my life forever...... It all started the night of December 1, 1999.........
I was dating a guy from Taylor, Stacy.. I was living with my grandpa and Stacy came and picked me up that Wednesday night for church... When i got in the car it was 5:00 pm.. I told him that we were doing our Sr. pictures the next day and i needed something to wear. He said well if we skip church we will go find you something to wear, so I just said ok lets go. We wend back to his house on Welcome Rd. and he changed, we ate with his parents, we went to a friends house for a minute, then we left for Springhill... We went to walmart first and I couldn't find anything, so we went to stage. I found something, tried it on and we bought it.... As we were leaving the parking lot, Stacy seen his friend, driving a new car... His mom had got it for an early Christmas present and he was out taking his girlfriend and friend for a ride. We got out and talked to them for a minute and they talked Stacy into taking his car back to his house and riding with them. I didn't want to stay at Stacy's by myself so i went along. His girlfriend was up front sitting in the middle and me and Stacy was in the back. we drove around back roads for a while then they stopped at the store and bought some cheap beer and we went back to a friends house, at the end of welcome rd. I went inside and they all stayed out there talking and drinking their beer. I watched tv and fell asleep. Stacy woke me up and asked if i was ready. I didn't know how much the guy had drank, so it didn't cross my mind that he was drunk and getting behind the wheel. Stacy and I got in the back again, we took his girlfriend home and as soon as we dropped her off he started driving fast and I was ready to get out of there. We got back on Welcome rd, from where we had just left., another truck was in front of us and that is when the disaster started. He passed them and I could see the Speedometer go way up.. We passed Stacy's house and from then I do not remember what happened only what they guys behind us said.. They watched it all and they feared we were all dead. Right when we passed Stacy's house, we went into the field and they did some spins in the grass, got back on the road and he ran off the road and hit the concrete and that is what sent us flying in the air and hit the tree head on, they said we rolled about three times and then we wrapped around the tree. They got out of the truck and rushed over. They said i was screaming that i couldn't move and that Stacy was on top of me. They pulled us out of the car and layed me on the ground. I woke up for a split second and saw lights and noticed and that is the only thing that i remember. I woke up in the hospital and my dad was right beside me, hollering at the Dr's in the ER... That is the way my dad is, he wanted me taken care of and fast. I don't remember much else, just them putting me in the Ambulance and saying i needed to get to LSU. I was out and I don't remember much else, till i woke up with a cast on. I was informed that I had broken my ankle and shattered my hip. I was in a daze , I didn't understand why this would happen to me. I always thought nothing would ever happen to me and i would alway be ok. This woke me up and made me realize, that anything can happen in a split second. I had been in the hospital a few days in and out, not knowing what was going on, Untill the day my daddy knelt by my bad with that sad look on his face.. I kept asking where is Stacy over and over again and not a person would say. Dad had to finally tell me, before someone else did, He knelt down his head and my dad started crying and I knew then, that Stacy didn't make it. He looked at me and said, Stacy didn't make it out of the accident, and i am so sorry Brandie, but he is no longer with us..... I got quiet and I really had no emotions. I didn't want to believe and I didn't believe it. Until His mom and dad walked in my room and it looked like they haven't slept in days. When they came to my bed and looked at me and said, Brandie " I can't believe this is happening" i knew then that it was true. They had already had the funeral, they hurt me so much , I didn't even get to go, and to have closer. It bothered me so much and I just couldn't get it in my head that he was really gone.
I left the hospital and went back to my dad and step-moms. Now my sister Stacie was also in a body cast. My family had a lot on their shoulder's, taking care of 2 people, that were bound to the bed. I laid in bed a lot, depressed that this was happening to me. Friends and Families came by, they tried to cheer me up, but it just didn't work. I had to take home school, My senior year was messed up. I had a teacher come 3x a week and I did my class work. I always laid in bed, didn't want to do anything, well i couldn't do anything, but lay there, had to have help with everything. I never took time to deal with Stacy's death. I never thought about it. I didn't want to come to terms with it. It was to hard. I went back and forth to Dr's. Hearing the news that i would never walk again, never have kids, never be the same. I just listened to what they said and I believed them. I didn't want to move on, I stayed depressed. Until the day I realized that i could not be in that wheelchair the rest of my life. I got out in the driveway and i stood there for hours at a time. I could see myself walking, but just couldn't take the step. It took days to finally take that one step and when I did i was so happy and thought my life would be so much better now.
Many years went by..... I had 2 more surgeries on my ankle and another on my hip. I was with my sister Charlie one day and I told her that i was ready to go to Stacy's grave... I needed that closer and I needed to realize that it was true. She took me out there, helped my find the site and then left me to say my good bye's. It was hard and today it still is. Loosing a best friend/boyfriend is so hard to go through and many people have had to say goodbye to a loved one. It's never easy and you will never forget.
I had another surgery in March 2010 on my ankle and expecting a hip replacement soon.... I have problems with my back and neck, arthritis and my hip popping out of place and it just seems like it will never get better, It has been ten years and my body is going down and i am only 29 years old, It depresses me so much. I do not want to be laid up for the rest of my life. Everyday i wake up in pain and it takes away from my life.
Drinking and driving is the cause of this and i hope hearing this story will open they eyes of everyone... Do not get behind the wheel if you have been drinking, or get in the car with someone that has been drinking. I regret that night over and over again. What if.... I didn't tell Stacy i needed to buy some clothes, what if we would have went to church, Would he still be here. We will never know. Everything does happen for a reason and God is the only person that knows what that reason is. Stacy is up there with him, watching all of his closest family and friends, and one day we might find out What that reason was for. Until then, we have to stay strong and get through our problems........ I will and always will miss Stacy. Those who knew him, and those who didn't he was a great guy and it is so hard to realize that he is now gone....
So read this story over and over, look at these pictures, walk in my shoes for a day, or someone else that had a wreck due to drinking and driving... Then you will realize that it is not worth it. You do not want to wake every morning in pain, You do not want to loose someone that you love...... You do not want to ruin your life, just for a few drinks or acting stupid in a car... It is not worth it. I can tell you from experince, that one night of fun can ruin your life forever............
