Page 37 - ACTL Journal Win24

She awoke much later in the Salzburg Trauma Hospital, confirming what she knew to be true, “Every time I look it’s true: both legs are gone, my entire right arm is gone.”
“I’d like to take you on my journey; a journey that for a few hours seemed to be a tragedy but has turned out to what most people think has been an extraordinary life,” she said.
She recounted the details of her horrific accident, describing how their rental van became stuck on train tracks before it was smashed by an on- coming train. “Since I never lost consciousness, I could relive everything that happened.”
She felt her husband Dave’s arms around her as he tried to pull her from the van to safety. Then she felt his grasp give way. The locomo- tive toppled the van, pinning her to the tracks.
She recalled people trying to lift the van off her. She heard strange words, realizing that even if she couldn’t understand the words, it did not matter. Hearing any words meant that she was still alive.
“I’m told later that I was pushed the distance of two football fields down the track before the crumpled mass of me and the van came to a halt.”
Her remarks described how she learned to cope with life without legs and with only one arm – her non-dominant arm. Her determination to live a full life with her husband and children and practice medi- cine is inspirational. But more than simply that, her extraordinary perspective is an example for others to find happiness while contend- ing with life’s challenges.
Dr. Olson shared the first thoughts that she had about her future in the quiet of her hospital room. “I’m married to a wonderful man, medical school is behind us already, I have only nine more months to finish my radiology residency. And then my thoughts jumble. He won’t want to be married to someone who’s disabled. This is the worst thing in the world that could happen to Dave . . . I’ll just tell him he doesn’t have to stick around.”
His response set the course of their life together. “Tears run down his cheeks as he squeezes my hand. ‘I didn’t marry your arms and your legs. If you can do it, I can do it,” he assured her. Later he told her,
“Olsy, put yourself in my place. What would you do if I had been on the tracks instead of you? . . . You may need my arms and legs but I need your spirit and positive energy.”
The audience came to recognize that all of us would benefit from a dose of Olsy’s spirit and energy.
Dr. Olson showed examples of her early letters from Salzburg to her colleagues back home. Her handwriting was hard to read, as she had yet to train herself to write with her non-dominant hand, but her spir- it and generosity came shining through. She talked about how her accident could be a case study for them all. Her notes were upbeat, positive, and forward looking.
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As her presentation continued, Dr. Olson described herself with a unique matter-of-fact humor, “a tiny, three-foot tall, egg-shaped thing that weighs 73 pounds.” But make no mistake, Dr. Olson made it clear that she has never allowed herself to be defined by her injuries. She detailed asking her husband within days of the accident to bring photos to the hospital of the “real me... one wearing a bi- kini or my tight jeans and a halter top. I want them to see me as a normal person and a sexy woman who somebody could love.”