Tim Schmanski's blog

Below is the text of a general email sent on Friday, June 24th

All,

Just a quick update tonight because I need some sleep time... Tori continues to improve with her primitive brian functions such as opening and closing her eyes, avoiding poke and pinch pain, coughing, gagging, etc. which is all very positive news. We are now looking and praying for some purposeful brain functions such as her trying to pull the tube from her mouth which would be great of course!! The physical therapist also began working with her today and Tori provided leg and arm resistance to the exercises they provided.

Below is the text of a general email sent Thursday evening June, 23rd.

Hello again everyone,

Tori and the rest of us had a very promising day today!! It started very early this morning at approximately 3:00am when she began attempting to open her eyes. She continued to try off and on all day and improved each time but she eventually gets upset and frustrated which causes her heart rate to increase so we have to calm her down. I just left her room minutes ago and I am totally thrilled to report that she opened her eyes, focused them on me and calmly blinked them while looking at me for at least 3 minutes!! I'm also crying again as I type this... She also moves her jaw around as she is doing this and we are really anxious to see what she can do without the stomach extraction tubes that are down her throat at the moment.

Below is the content of a general email sent Wednesday evening on June 22nd.

All,

This is another message and update from Tori's father, Tim Schmanski. Today was Tori's MRI day and I wanted to inform everyone of the results. I would also like to state that this information is completely accurate and genuine and was also witnessed by myself personally.

The MRI was taken at 4:00pm today and my wife Maria and I had to wait until 7:00pm to meet with the doctors analyzing the results. We were preparing for the very worst news heading into the meeting and we were also wondering why the doctors were taking so long to meet with us. In the meeting the doctors informed us that the MRI was completely normal which was as astounding to them as it was to us. They also told us the Spectroscopy performed earlier was also normal and this confused them even more. They had originally informed us that Tori's brain damage would be great given the 25-30 minutes of total time her brain had no oxygen. The doctors are now totally perplexed and befuddled with the results and one of them even stated that if she had seen the charts without seeing Tori first she would assume the person could talk and use their hands.

Below is the content of a general email forwarded to all of Tori's friends on Wednesday morning.

Thank you Jessica and I also would like everyone to know the truth around the accident.

Tori, her sister Whitney and cousins Ashton and Russell slid off a road in a 2 door Ford Explorer and landed upside down in very muddy and cold water that was about 6 or 7 feet deep. The accident occured just outside of Delta, Utah. Russell was able to get out of the drivers side and Ashton and Whitney miraculously were able to exit to the same front door from the back seat. Tori was the only one with her seat belt on. Russell tried several times to locate and remove her but was unsuccessful so he flagged down help.

This is the content of the first email I sent out to Tori's friends on Monday night or very early Tuesday morning.

Jake,

Thank you for sending me this email and I am replying to yourself and Shaid since my emailer won't allow me to reply to everyone listed. Please send this out to all of Tori's friends for me.

This is Tim Schmanski, Tori's father, and I realize that everyone copied on this knows of Tori or is a friend of hers.

As most of you are probably aware, Tori was involved in a serious car accident on Sunday, June 19th. She is currently at the Primary Childrens Hospital in SLC. I wanted to thank so many of you who were able to visit her over the last couple of days and I know all of your thoughts, love and prayers are with her. And we know that Tori can feel all of this support as well. I greatly appreciated meeting so many of you after hearing about all of you from Tori so many times.

At about 3:15pm on Sunday, 19th of June, Tori, her sister Whitney and cousins Ashton and Russell slid off a road in a 2 door Ford Explorer and landed upside down in very muddy and cold water that was about 6 or 7 feet deep. The accident occured just outside of Delta, Utah. Russell was able to get out of the drivers side and Ashton and Whitney miraculously were able to exit to the same front door from the back seat. Tori was the only one with her seat belt on. Russell tried several times to locate and remove her but was unsuccessful so he flagged down help.

Within 10-15 minutes help arrived and Tori was removed from the vehicle. I have now learned that she was located in the back seat without her seatbelt on. Whitney was sitting behind her a she remembers someone pushing her towards the front door and we absolutely believe it was Tori.

Tori's heart was stopped and she was not breathing after she was removed but she was brought back to us by the EMTs after 10 more minutes during the ambulance ride to the hospital and we are so thankful for this. She was shocked several times during this trip. When I saw her the first time at the Delta Hospital I was in total shock. Her temperature was 32 degrees and it was just an ugly, unforgettable scene... She was bagged the whole time and a CAT scan was given to her which showed no damage to her physical structure. She was then stabilized before being Life Flighted from Delta to the Primary Childrens Hospital in SLC. During the flight she was recessitated again.

This Blog is where I will enter all of my daily notes and stories on Tori's progress. I have included in sequential order the daily emails I have been sending to everyone. Please feel free to direct others to this site for information on Tori. I thank all of you greatly for your love, prayers, thoughts and support.