This was her second surgery on her legs, after she lost her feet and much of her lower legs after the accident. She said it was basically the same surgery over again, with doctors taking more off. There were issues with the bottom of her legs, with bones protruding and interfering with her prosthetics. Things were not working right, and there was irritation, more needed to be done.
“Now they think they are the perfect length.”
Hiebert said she is suffering from a fair bit of phantom pain while healing up. There has been more of the strange feeling from the missing limbs than there was the first time, which she feels has a lot to do with the fact she is not as heavily medicated as after the accident. She is not sleeping much but is confident it will go away, as she recently went back to Winnipeg to see the surgeon and was given new medication.
Hiebert’s story is an intense and inspiring one. On the night of January 17-18, 2016, Hiebert and her daughter Avery were travelling down #23 Highway near Dunrea. Her vehicle slid off the highway and rolled into a deep embankment. Hiebert suffered multiple serious injuries, including broken limbs and ribs, and a fractured neck.
This was only the beginning. The night was -25 Celsius and though vehicles did pass, none saw her. Despite her injuries, Hiebert had the presence of mind to roll onto Avery to keep her warm. She did that for around 10-12 hours. Eventually, when morning came, despite her injuries, Hiebert was able to crawl up the ditch to the highway. A driver stopped, and the mother and daughter were able to warm up in the SUV before professional help arrived. They were airlifted to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. Fortunately, Avery was not badly hurt and was soon out of the hospital. However, her mother had surgery and due to severe frostbite on her feet, lost them and part of her legs.
Hiebert said she does not remember too much about the accident and the aftermath. She is working with a psychologist to recover memories as well as to work the trauma through. Despite fogginess, she said what happened is still part of her.
“Every day I think about it,” she explained. “I look at myself and it is a constant reminder. I think about it quite often, but I am trying to move on. Everything is slow, and you never know what is going to happen.”
“I try to look forward. This is a part of my past.”
At the time of speaking, she was going to the doctors to be re-casted. She will work with her prostheticist to get the modifications on her equipment to have things operational again. She recently got a lift for her garage and has a mechanical arm on her truck to get her wheelchair in, which is a big improvement.
Avery is doing well. Now 6, she is in first grade. She takes piano lessons, and is very interested in riding.
“She loves horses. It runs in the family.”
Hiebert has plans for the future. She is looking to return to school with help from MPI. Although she is not sure which institution she will go to, she has a course of learning planned. She is interested in Indigenous Studies.
“I have some ideas, it is almost a calling, a passion. I am not 100% certain (why she is interested in Indigenous Studies), but I think it has a lot to do with the reconciliation going on. There is that section in the library I like. I feel I will find my direction and where it will take me.”
After the accident, friends, family and the community of Boissevain got into the Hiebert’s corner. A GoFundMe page was set up, and it collected around $90,000. There were other fundraisers like a social and an RCMP hockey game. Hiebert said shewill never forget the generosity.
“I still feel, there are no words to express what everyone did for me and Avery,” Hiebert stated. “I will never stop saying thank you. I still get emotional. Every opportunity I have to say thank you, I will take it. It was amazing. I got the house, the truck, that helped me a lot. Thank you is all I can say.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff