In December 2009 Vanessa's car hydroplaned and crashed into a guard rail, causing her head to hit the steering wheel and windshield. She was immediately rushed to Northeast Georgia Medical Center where she received emergency care. For the next week, Vanessa struggled in and out of consciousness, unaware of what had happened.
Nearly every bone in her face had been fractured; the seventeen-year-old would need total reconstructive surgery. Afraid of Vanessa's fragile state, the doctors kept her from seeing herself in a mirror as long as they could, but she would eventually have to face reality.
"After a week, they got me out of bed and moving around the room. I walked past the door and saw myself in the mirror. My heart dropped. I didn't know what I expected to see, but I wasn't prepared," Vanessa reflected.
Through multiple surgeries, doctors used metal plates and screws to re-align Vanessa's face, plates and screws that would remain for almost a year. The car accident had left Vanessa confused and even angry at God; her faith was shaken to the core. Until one day, when a nurse shared with the young patient that God had not abandoned her but still had a plan for Vanessa's life. The nurse also encouraged Vanessa with her own struggle surviving cancer.
"Those words hit me, and although I still didn't have all the answers at that moment, what she said gave me real hope."
Recovery in the hospital was long and tedious. Her fast-paced routine screeched to a halt with the arrival of hospital beds, IVs, and hours of solitude. Forced to use a tracheotomy tube to breathe and a voice box to speak, Vanessa strove to re-learn the simplest of activities. Patience was the prevailing lesson as she fought to make progress.
Each day, Vanessa valued more and more the way in which her nurses cared for her and comforted her family. Inspired by their service, she experienced a new desire to do the same for others and decided to change her major to nursing. But this time, she knew that Truett-McConnell College was the place to plant that dream.
"In the past, I had been deterred from TMC because I thought it was only for people called to full-time ministry, and I knew I wasn't called to be a pastor; but during my time in the hospital, I realized that you don't have to be called to be a pastor to minister to people. I do have a calling, and it is helping and giving hope to people in the hospital just like those nurses did for me."
In the fall of 2010, a fully-recovered Vanessa Hurtado came to Truett-McConnell College studying biology and running on the cross country team which she loves. Since then, TMC has become her home, not only academically and socially, but spiritually as well.
"The accident made me question things, and now I realize how important a biblical worldview is to my relationship with God. TMC has helped my roots grow deeper."
Vanessa Hurtado
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/3/237110