When a young life ends abruptly because of illness, accident or murder, the tragedy of a life unlived haunts us all.
Could there possibly be anything worse?
Ask that question of Kristin Conway’s friends and family members. She had studied to become a medical assistant, but last fall her 28-year-old life essentially came to an end. But it didn’t.
After a bone-crushing auto accident in which her brain stem was injured, Kristin fell into a coma. Neurosurgeons at Upstate University Hospital told the family that the young woman would never regain consciousness. Never.
Ill-fated U-turn
The crash which changed Kristin’s life occurred Friday, Oct. 6, on State Route 365 in the town of Verona, not far from the Turning Stone Casino. Kristin’s best friend, Amanda Trepasso, was driving. She tried to make a U-turn and, in so doing, steered her car into the path of an oncoming sport utility vehicle. Police say Trepasso failed to yield the right of way.
The SUV, driven by a 22-year-old man, slammed into the passenger side of Trepasso’s car, where Conway was sitting.
Kristin nearly died at the scene.
Emergency crews used the Jaws of Life to free her from the mangled automobile and she was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Utica. The accident injured Kristin so seriously in so many ways it’s upsetting to list them all. She suffered a lacerated liver, a broken femur, two broken hips, a collapsed lung and, worse yet, severe brain damage.
Once she stabilized, Kristin was flown to Upstate University Hospital ICU. No one on the medical staff offered any hope. Kristin’s very survival remained questionable, and the doctors were sure she’d remain in a comatose state for the rest of her life.
Nevertheless, she underwent surgery to repair her broken femur and hips. Surgeons also installed a stomach tube and tracheostomy. Five weeks after the car crash, she was transferred to Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady.
Benefit set Sunday
Sharkey’s Sports Bar on Route 57 will host a benefit for Kristin’s family, from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17.
Sunday’s event will feature food, raffles and live music. Well-wishers will dance to tunes by Southern rock guitarist Fred Kuepper and Alex Boatman & The Boatmen, an upbeat rock’n’roll quartet with songwriter Boatman supported by bassist Paul Puzzullo, guitarist Andrew Halliday and drummer Brandon Morse. Admission costs $20; for info, visit Facebook.com/kristins.fight
882-3903.
‘A living miracle’
Despite her grim prognosis, Kristin’s friends and family do their best to stay positive.
“Kristin is a loving girl who would’ve given the shirt off her back to someone in need,” said her friend, Kailee Perrin. “She touched the lives of everyone she met, and made a lasting imprint on their hearts. This benefit will raise money to help with the multiplying medical expenses, transportation costs for her family to travel from Liverpool to Schenectady and her ongoing recovery after that.”
Amanda Trepasso is still Kristin’s best friend. She organized the fundraiser.
“Kristin Conway was a beautiful young woman with a full life ahead of her when this tragic car accident happened,” Trepasso said. “Kristin is still medically considered to be in a coma. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but she is a living miracle.”
Squeaky door update
You‘ve got to give Jimmy Mosconi credit. After I reported the annoying squeaky door at the U.S. Post Office in Liverpool where he works as a counter clerk, Jimmy grabbed a can of WD-40 and silenced the whiney hinges.
But you know what they say. “When one door closes, another opens.”
Sure enough I found another squeaky door at appeThaizing, the new Southeast Asian restaurant at 105 First St.
‘Café Saturdays’
Syracuse area Music Hall of Famer Maria DeSantis recently kicked off a series of “Café Saturdays at Café at 407 at Ophelia’s Place, 407 Tulip St., here in Liverpool.
From 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, the series will spotlight Maria’s own DeSantis Band, which plays a wide variety of pop tunes.
On Friday, Feb. 15, the café welcomes Hans Storsberg and Dan Clausen playing acoustic R&B originals. Admission is free at Café at 407, but don’t forget to drop a little something in the musicians’ tip jar; 451-5544.
