PENDLETON, Ind. —
Kendra Stock has been visiting her friend Andrea (Voss) Vellinga in her hospital room almost daily as she recovers from severe head injuries.
Last week, Vellinga began gradually waking up from a five-week coma. On Saturday Stock asked her, “Do you know who I am?”
Vellinga, who has not spoken or communicated much yet, wrote on a white board: “Kendra.”
And underneath that she wrote: “Best friend.”
“I started sobbing hysterically,” Stock said. “She then had a sad face and I said, ‘No, no, I’m not sad. I’m happy!’”
Vellinga, 30, Pendleton, was one of dozens who were critically injured on Aug. 13 when a storm knocked down the concert stage at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, crushing many people in the audience who were waiting for Sugarland to perform. Seven people died as a results of their injuries.
After the accident, Vellinga spent several weeks at Methodist Hospital, undergoing surgery and treatment. Now she is at an undisclosed long-term, acute-care facility in Indianapolis, continuing her recovery.
Last week, Vellinga began waking up, holding eye contact with visitors, showing emotions on her face and even communicating once in a while by writing words and messages on a white board.
“When you start to wake up, everybody thinks you just wake up and you are awake,” said Stock, 30, Pendleton. “But it’s not like that. You get really combative and uncomfortable. You don’t wake up super easily with head injuries.”
Vellinga has been able to write people’s names, alert them that her leg hurts and tell people she loves them. She doesn’t always respond to questions, and sometimes just scribbles or doesn’t make sense, but it’s still a good sign, said her father, Steve Voss. She can’t speak yet due to a tracheotomy.
Vellinga has a long road ahead of her, and every step in her recovery has been a miracle, he said.
“Her recovery and rehab, from the beginning, has been almost perfectly linear in a positive progression,” Voss, 59, Pendleton, said. “There have been very few setbacks, few notable days where there wasn’t some visible progress to which we can hang our hope on.”
The Pendleton wife and mother has also accomplished several other feats recently.
Vellinga is fed through a feeding tube that carries nutrients straight to her stomach, Stock said.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) she ate ice cream, all by herself. She scooped it up, put it in her mouth and swallowed. That’s huge. Therapists said a lot of people (in her circumstances) have to be retaught how to swallow.”
Besides being able to enjoy chocolate ice cream, the first food item she has ingested orally since the accident, Tuesday was a big day for Vellinga in other ways.
Vellinga has been mostly bedridden and has been placed in a sitting position at times, but on Tuesday nurses were able to get her to stand up.
“She can’t stand by herself at all, but she was able to put a teeny bit of pressure on both her legs,” Stock said. “They saw her move her left leg and she squeezed the nurse’s hand on her left side.”
Vellinga’s injuries are mostly to the right side of her brain, which affects the function of the left side of her body. She hadn’t moved her left side much since the accident, Voss said, which worried doctors. She has been able to move her right side, but now wiggles her right leg often, likely because she is uncomfortable or in pain, he said.
Whenever Vellinga leaves her bed for therapy or for fresh air, she always wears a pink helmet to protect her delicate head since a portion of her skull has not been replaced yet. The helmet has butterflies on it and was picked out by her 4-year-old daughter Lydia, Stock said.
“Lydia goes everyday to see her at the hospital,” Stock said. “Lydia has sat on her bed and Andrea was rubbing her back and tickling her neck and playing with her hair.”
Andrea has also been able to throw a ball to Lydia and her husband Mike Vellinga.
This week, Vellinga is expected to be moved to a rehab facility where she can receive more intense physical, occupational and speech therapy, Stock said.
Both Voss and Stock — who was at the concert with Vellinga — said they have talked to Vellinga about what happened at the state fair and why she is hurt. They don’t know if she truly understands, but she has implied she knows she is in a hospital, Voss said.
Voss said that no one has indicated that his daughter will not fully recover. Vellinga had been training for a 13-mile marathon, which took place three weeks after the stage collapse, so she is in top shape to fight the battle placed before her, he said.
“That doesn’t promise total recovery but we have every hope that can occur,” Voss said. “Quite frankly, even if they told us she would be limited, we wouldn’t be buying that.
“With the support she is going to have, her age and her physical condition, and the reasons she has to live and live a full life, there is no reason to not expect a full recovery.”
>> Pendleton Heights High School homecoming parade: Andrea Vellinga’s friends will wear pink and participate in the parade through downtown Pendleton. 6 p.m. Friday.
>> Pendleton Heights Homecoming football game: People will sell For the Love of Andrea merchandise including t-shirts, bracelets, yard signs, car decals and ribbons, and 1,500 balloons will be released in Vellinga’s honor. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
>> Pink Nation Celebration: Outdoor festival/fundraiser with live entertainment, free kids games, food, live and silent auctions, and a blood drive. 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Admission: $5 adults, $3 children under 12.
Contact Melanie Hayes: 648-4250 or melanie.hayes@heraldbulletin.com.
