University of Colorado at Boulder senior Artis Selby doesn't remember much of what happened in the hours and days following a serious car accident nearly four years ago, but she remembers well the difficult months and years she has spent putting her life back together.
Selby will graduate from CU-Boulder on Dec. 20 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and will receive a teaching certificate in elementary education. She plans to teach special education, a goal she had set before the car accident that nearly took her leg.
On Dec. 10, 1998, Selby was driving north on a snowy and slippery Interstate 25 on her way to a veterinarian appointment for her family's dog, Buddy. Then, suddenly, came the accident that changed her life, she recalls.
She remembers her car coming to a stop on the highway after colliding with a car in front of her. The last thing she remembers is seeing a large truck barreling down on her car.
The truck's impact with her car that morning nearly cost Selby her life and severely damaged her right leg. The wreck killed her dog Buddy.
After the accident, Selby spent two weeks in the hospital and another 16 weeks in a wheelchair recovering from her injuries, which also included a broken arm. She spent long hours working with a physical therapist and an occupational therapist to try to get her life back.
"I am lucky," Selby said. "I had a lot of support from my family and friends. Everybody really helped me get through this."
In the first several months after the accident it was a real struggle just to do the everyday things people take for granted, she said. But she stuck with it, eventually enduring 23 surgeries after the accident.
"The doctors basically had to put my leg back together," she said, and adds they did an excellent job.
She now has a metal rod and screws in her leg, as well as a metal disk that serves as her kneecap. She also had two major bone infections in her leg that kept her on and off crutches for nearly two years.
Throughout the ordeal, Selby found the time and energy to continue with school. The accident happened during finals week, so when she had recovered enough to think clearly she took her finals and finished the semester.
"I wasn't really in the mood to study but I did," she said.
It would be nine months before she could return to campus for classes, but during those nine months she found the energy to complete two correspondence courses from her home.
Now nearly four years after the accident, she is mostly pain free and has had no infections in her leg for more than a year. She still can't run and has trouble navigating stairs, but overall she feels great and is excited about her future, especially her immediate plans.
"I'm going to Australia for few months and am going to just enjoy life," Selby said.
She looks forward to the challenges of working as a teacher, but hasn't forgotten her ordeal. Every year since the accident, she has gotten together with her family and friends to remember the incident and to celebrate life.
"It's a happy day for me now," Selby said.