UNION — Abby Marsh is finally home.
Marsh, the Ryle student who’d been hospitalized since May after a car crash, left the hospital and returned home. The crash broke her fifth cervical vertebrae and left her in spinal shock and paralyzed below her armpits. She had an 11-hour operation to fuse vertebrae together, but complications left her with a lung infection that reduced her breathing capacity and eventually collapsed her lung. This greatly impaired her speech.
Since the crash, the community rallied around Abby, swamping her with visitors and messages.
“We have a lot of friends and church family who are praying for us, and we cherish that,” said Dan Marsh, her father.
To welcome her home, more than 100 of her friends lined her street, glow sticks in hand to light her final stretch home.
“It was just an incredible outpouring of love,” Dan Marsh said.
The gesture was another in a long line of events, fundraisers and signs of support Abby’s gotten since the crash.
In August, a fundraiser at Turfway Park raised about $55,000 for Marsh’s family, and Union native Josh Hutcherson auctioned off a meal with him for five winners – raising about $12,000.
Much of that money went to remodeling the Marsh home to accommodate the 17-year-old’s wheelchair and other special needs.
“The house isn’t 100 percent, but it’s close,” Dan Marsh said.
In a symbolic gesture, a tree that was taken down as part of the remodeling was used to fuel the bonfire the Marshes had for Abby and her more than 100 friends the night she came home.
As things settle down and the renovations are completed, the Marshes’ plan to host a celebration event for everyone who’s helped with the home renovations as an opportunity to show their gratitude and for everyone to see the final product of their hard work.
Since the crash in May, Abby’s made significant progress. She can move her arms, she’s had her tracheotomy removed, she can speak, is attending church and went to the Ryle soccer banquet.
“Even with her restricted movement, she’s able to get messages out with her iPad,” Dan Marsh said.
With Abby out of the hospital, the road to recovery is far from over, and the Marshes are ready for the commitment needed. The family is taking Abby to Louisville five days a week for a two-hour therapy session. The trips are made possible because of a handicap-accessible van the family was able to buy with money from donations.
“She’s already showing signs of improvement,” Dan Marsh said.
Meeting others who are getting similar treatment has been a great source of encouragement for the family, he said.
“I know four young men who are getting out of their wheelchairs who had the same level of injury as Abby,” he said.
Regardless of how things turn out, the Marshes already have plenty to be thankful for, he said.
“It’s great to have her home,” he said.
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