GLASGOW — One year ago today, Judie Hatchett was unconscious and struggling for her life in the University of Louisville hospital. That evening before, she had fallen down the stairs and hit her head on the brick floor in her Country Club Estates home. She knows this only because she’s been told. Judie doesn’t remember that near-fatal accident or periods of time before and after the traumatic event.
“Not remembering such an accident is a big plus,” she remarks. “I recommend it.”
We’re talking in her WKU office on the Glasgow campus where she is a professor of English. She’s back now, after taking almost a school year off to recover. “Teaching a full load doesn’t bother me at all. My prognosis is good,” she remarks. “I’m careful about getting tired. I take care of myself.” She looks around and smiles. “You know, I couldn’t even remember the interior of this building for a while. Then one day, it all came back.” She says that’s the way it’s been for other tidbits of once-stored memory, “No great, dramatic revelation. It just slowly comes back.”
“Did you forget any of the books you teach and have to re-read them for your classes?”
“I never forgot anything about literature,” she assures me.
Then we discuss a Flannery O’Connor story that she says she didn’t like before her accident. “Do you appreciate it any better now?” I wonder. “After your craniotomy, did you experience any epiphany?”
No, she still doesn’t like it. She’s the same ol’ Judie. Her family and friends are certainly happy to have her that way.
“I hardly saw any doctor during the days after the accident because I was unconscious.” She describes herself as being in a “time warp” then. Weeks later, she asked Dr. Bill Marrs to catch her up on what had happened. “I think he may have had to do that twice,” she chuckles.
What she has learned about her situation has left her grateful for the quick life-saving care she was given. She especially praises personnel at the U of L Hospital and Frazier Rehab. “Many people prayed for me. I think that helped a lot. I was really serious for a couple of weeks. My family couldn’t be assured I would live. My husband Edward was upset and run-ragged—at least she says he was—who knows?”In addition to her husband, she mentions their two adult children and her mother. “I regret that it was hard on them,” she says, “but I was blissfully unconscious.”
“What have you now remembered that you would like to forget?” I ask.
Her response comes quickly, “The concern in people’s faces when I first gained consciousness.”
She recalls a day soon after she regained consciousness. “My daughter Elizabeth was concerned about my hair and volunteered to give it a trim. She was ready to go with the scissors, and then I realized that half my hair had been shaved off for the operation.”
Also during that time, Judie asked for her glasses, and her husband located them for her. “These aren’t my glasses,” she told him, and then described her frames. What she was describing, though, was a pair she had used 15 years ago.
From time to time during the year before her accident, Judie claims she had a recurring dream. Perhaps it was more nightmare than dream. In it she feared that she would fall down the stairs and be hurt. “It’s very odd, but I never got to the end,” she says, “only the fear of falling down them.” Since the accident, that dream has not once revisited her.
Features
Not remembering can be a plus
- Features
-
- ROTARY REPORT: Barren ROTC to be topic Thursday
-
SLIDESHOW: Sports figures react to Joe Paterno's death
Players, coaches and sports journalists took to Twitter on Sunday morning to react to the death of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno.
-
Viral video: Announcer goes nuts after full-court shot wins game
One college basketball play-by-play radio host likely needed some throat lozenges when he woke up Sunday morning, a day after his shocked, screaming reaction to a game-winning basket.
-
Viral video: Groom surprises bride with Justin Bieber dance
The choreographed wedding dance is a staple of a healthy viral video diet, right up there with cute kittens and babies laughing at everyday sounds. Still, it's hard not to smile when you watch one as well-executed as this groom's Justin Bieber tribute to his new bride.
-
Viral video: Anchor has Ron Burgundy moment on live TV
A morning meteorologist at a TV station in Green Bay, Wis., had a real-life Ron Burgundy moment this week thanks to a prank by one of his co-workers.
-
Christmas sights
A dog at the entrance of a house on North Race Street got a festive touch for the holidays.
-
Viral video: Woman makes amazing hockey goal, wins truck
Some folks are calling it a "miracle on ice." A 59-year-old woman who had never held a hockey stick made a nearly impossible goal, sending a puck into a tiny opening to win a brand new truck.
-
Viral video: FedEx guy tosses computer monitor over fence
During the holidays more than any other time, shoppers rely on delivery services to bring important packages to their doorsteps safe and sound. But a YouTube video gone viral shows that sometimes, packages aren't exactly handled with care.
-
Viral video: Senior citizens stage flash mob
Flash mobs aren't just for teenagers anymore. A group of senior citizens proved it recently after staging a song and dance inside the Christmas decorations department of the Target store in Lawrence, Kan.
-
Guide to this year's hottest gift: The tablet
Tablet computers and e-readers are extremely popular and are expected to be strong sellers this holiday season despite a weak economy. But the array of models and brands can confound many potential gift-givers. Check out this guide to tablet-giving on any budget.
- More Features Headlines
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
