Enedina & Jose Galvan
It was a rainy April day. Enedina Galvan was on her way to purchase new tires for her vehicle. Her brother, Martin, and father, Jose, went along with her.
As she drove down the highway, Enedina noticed the steering wheel started to shake. “The shaking kept getting worse as I drove down the highway,” she said. “My brother noticed I was having difficulty driving and told me to pull over. But I couldn’t.”
Enedina completely lost control of her vehicle as it veered toward oncoming traffic. Then, the unthinkable happened. A tow truck and two semi-trucks slammed into their vehicle.
Miraculously, Martin sustained only a few injuries. He helped his father out of the vehicle. Enedina, unfortunately, remained stuck in the car, pinned down by her seatbelt.
“As I sat in my car, I thought I was removing my seatbelt. But when I looked down, my arm wasn’t moving,” Enedina recalled. “Next, my chest started hurting and I could hardly breathe. I remained stuck until the first responders came.”
An ambulance rushed them to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. There, the trauma team attended to their injuries.
Jose suffered a kidney laceration, multiple rib fractures, and fractures of both wrists. Although his injuries were serious, Jose was thankful that it was not life-threatening. His recovery looked promising. He expressed his appreciation for his orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Hoekzema. Jose also took his recommendation for inpatient rehabilitation at San Joaquin Valley Rehabilitation Hospital.
Enedina’s hospitalization was more complicated. She sustained a collapsed lung, an open fracture of her arm, and multiple fractures to her ribs and leg. While in the hospital, fluid accumulated in her chest cavity, requiring intubation.
Because of the great care she received at Community Regional, Enedina made huge gains. After seven days, she transferred to SJVRH to complete her rehab journey alongside her father. “I went through a lot, but I’m so thankful for Dr. Ayoub, the orthopedic surgeon who got me to the point where I could transfer to inpatient rehab,” Enedina said.
Enedina arrived at SJVRH motivated and determined to help her father through the tough times. “It was really great to get the support I needed because I had to be strong for my dad,” she stated. “The nurses and therapists made sure we got everything we need so that we achieved our goals to go home.”
“There were many days that getting up to do therapy wasn’t easy but I noticed how much stronger we were getting,” explained Enedina. The first few days of therapy can often be difficult. But Jose and Enedina endured and realized they were making tremendous gains. “We’re really thankful to the entire staff at SJVRH. They were caring, understanding, and worked hard to get us home together.”
Having achieved their inpatient rehab goals, Enedina and Jose discharged together. They look forward to making continued progress in their recoveries. “Taking the rehab journey together made all the difference,” they added.
