The highway is a dangerous place, and there are always concerns when driving back to school; most people make it back to campus safely, but others do not and end up in the hospital.
Mary Samoei, a Harding international student originally from Eldoret, Kenya, was riding back to campus from Alabama with friend Felix Martim and roommate Ryspei Sirma when the three were in a car accident. Martim was trying to adjust the air conditioning when he lost control of the car. The car flipped four times on the side of the road and left Samoei unconscious and injured. The other two made it through the accident without any harm but Samoei had been in the backseat without a seatbelt.
Samoei was airlifted to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham with a broken neck. Doctors faced a decision between surgery and attaching a “halo” to Samoei to keep her neck and head in place while healing. According to Pat Rice, a former nurse for the university, the doctors chose the halo since they thought Samoei was a young, healthy girl who could recover quickly.
Once Samoei was released from the hospital, she returned to Searcy and began searching for an ortho-spinal doctor who would take her as a patient. The search was difficult. There were four possible doctors Samoei could see, but not until around October, and she needed attention in July.
With the help of Rice as well as Dr. Jim Citty, a member of the American Board of Family Practice, Samoei was able to get in touch with Dr. Steven Cathey, an ortho-spinal doctor in Little Rock, who by description seemed a Godsend to Samoei and Rice.
“[Dr. Cathey] is one of the best ortho-spinal doctors in Arkansas … also he is a fun doctor, and when you are seriously injured like Mary you don’t want to go in and somebody’s real stern and serious, but he’s just fun,” Rice said. “We just really love Dr. Cathey.”
Rice described Cathey as the “fun doctor” many times and spoke very highly of his demeanor and the attention he gave to Samoei. Cathey informed Samoei that she was fortunate that in her accident her head moved back and forth and not side to side as that would have killed her.
While in the halo she was unable to perform everyday tasks for herself and needed the assistance of friends. She stayed with her cousin, Julius Koszei, who had originally gotten Samoei in touch with Rice.
Every day for seven weeks, friends would come and help Samoei by making food for her, helping her shower and performing basic tasks for her. Samoei could not even sleep lying down, but had to sleep in a recliner. Koszei even gave her a haircut since she could not wash her hair.
“I wasn’t feeling like I was lonely because my cousin was there and my friends,” Samoei said. “Every single day my friends would come to visit me, and I don’t think I even had an hour of staying by myself; I felt like I was well taken care of. “
The first two weeks of school Rice had to follow Samoei around and help her carry books and her backpack. Students in her classes had to help take notes for her as she was unable to write.
Now in a neck brace, Samoei is much more mobile and able to take care of most basic things. She still has assistance from Rice and returns to the doctor Sept. 11 when she will hopefully be taken out of her brace.
