Family elated as daughter opens her eyes

Amaryssa Byers opened her eyes for the first time Sunday, thrilling family members who have held vigil at her bedside since she fell off a moving car July. On Friday, she spoke her first words since the accident.

“Mom and dad were ecstatic,” said Deaconess Medical Center spokeswoman Janice Marich. “The difference they’ve seen in her condition from last week to this week they’ve described as a miracle.”

Byers has been upgraded to serious condition. She had been in critical condition since she fractured her skull when she fell off a hatchback where she had been sitting perched on the rear of the car, facing backward.

“She was in a medically induced coma for 10 days,” said Dr. Mark Buchholz, pediatric critical care specialist.

Byers had severe brain swelling, and doctors waited for treatment to take hold and allow the swelling to abate before waking her up. “I’m very delighted,” Buchholz said. “She had a high risk of not surviving. It’s unusual to have a patient wake up and ask for something to drink after this severe of a head trauma. Most patients never wake up.”

Buchholz said Byers will likely enter St. Luke’s for rehabilitation next week. Recovery will take months. He said there’s no way to tell yet if Byers might suffer permanent effects from her accident. “Many things we can’t measure for years down the road. Oftentimes, basic skills must be relearned.”

Buchholz said he hasn’t asked Byers what she remembers about the accident. “She’s still very ill but making dramatic recovery each day.”

Byers’ parents, Becky and John Byers, released a statement about their daughter’s condition Friday. “Sunday she opened her eyes and throughout this week she has responded to nurses, family and friends. She knows when her grandma Eileen has been there. She knows how old she is.”

The couple also thanked their four other children – Alex, 16, Justin, 13, Sam, 11, and Sierra, 9 – for “their love and understanding at this time.”

“This is something the whole family is living,” Marich said.

The long days in the hospital haven’t been without some sense of humor. It’s a tradition for families to post information about the patient on the hospital room door so the staff can get to know the patients they treat. Byers’ father has added this written comment: “Needs to get home and clean her room.”