May 6, 2007

Dear K.F.

I wasn't able to sleep all night because I am so worried about my little sister. She was transferred to St. Josephs a few hours ago from Mercy Gilbert (via ambulance) because St Joe's has a Neurological Center. Brittney is still with her and my parents are on their way back now.

I can't even begin to tell you how angry or frustraited or sad I am right now. I need you to know where WE are coming from....yes, it was Cinco de Mayo yesterday but that is not something my family is crazy about. We were more excited about the Oscar de la Hoya/Floyd Merriweather fight on pay per view. The Martinez family came over to my parents house as well and we had a great time. I left, well we all left a few minutes before 10pm. Brittney was at a concert last night on the other side of town and of course Bethany is at Santa Clara University so it was just me and Dani at the Elias house last night.

I had just walked into my house last night when I received the frantic phone call from my mom telling me that Dani had been in a car accident. My mom was telling me what she could see as it happened and I began driving towards my sisters home. My sisters live less than a mile from my parents so how could she have been in a car accident? My dad was already with her and my mom was running past emergency response people to get to her. They had not taken my little sister out of her car yet and there was glass all over her.

My mom said they were going to transport her to Banner Desert which was great because that was a great hospital and that is where Brittney is a RN. I arrived at Banner Desert to only find that the ambulence took her to Mercy Gilbert. I began driving there and trying to get ahold of Brittney who couldn't hear her phone at the concert.

When I walked into that ER, and saw my sister strapped to a board with her neck and head in braces so she couldn't move...that was the most frightening thing I could ever imagine. Yet Danielle was talking and that was important. It turns out that she has a bruise on her brain----did you hear me??? You caused her to have a bruise on her brain! Why am I so angry? Because you chose to drink and drive. You chose to be so drunk that you hurt her terribly. She had broken glass inside her jeans.

We just got back from Vegas a few weeks ago (pic taken 3/18/07)

Do you know what it is like to call your sisters and tell them that your sister has been in a terrible car accident and was hit by a drunk driver? She was turning into her home and you were so impatient and so drunk that you slammed into her. She is 25 years old. She has her whole life ahead of her. You on the other hand are barely 22 and you don't have enough sense to not drink and drive.

My sister will endure severe and cronic pain for the next two years. She'll have headaches that last days at a time, limiting her to what she can do. She'll experience short term memory loss as well memory problems in general. How fair is that to an 8th grade history teacher?

On the bright side, her car will be completly rebuilt which was one of her biggest concerns---she loves her beetle! Another bright side is that I think this horrific event brought us closer together. Even at your court hearing, all the Elias girls sitting in a row, up against you.

And to think...............all of this could have been avoided if you hadn't decided to drive drunk that night.

Mindy N. Elias-Big sister to Danielle Elias, Brittney Elias and Bethany Elias

~me