By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Kelli Hawthorne wanted one thing for her 25th birthday — to return to Oregon, where she had suffered serious injuries last year after falling headfirst into some rocks at the bottom of a cliff.
So, Kelli and her parents — Jerry and Ruth Hawthorne — made the trek to Oregon last week to celebrate her birthday, to visit the doctors and staff who helped patch her up, and to celebrate her brother’s first wedding anniversary.
”Kelli’s birthday was Sunday, and she wanted to go see the people (at the Portland, Ore., hospital) who saved her life,” Ms. Hawthorne said. “She wanted to meet them herself and thank them. It was a very emotional visit.”
Dr. Eric Dierks, the Oregon surgeon who treated Kelli, called last week’s visit “The Kelli Reunion Tour,” Ms. Hawthorne said with a laugh. Kelli visited the hospital, but she did not want to visit the site of the accident.
”The doctors and staff always wonder what happened to their patients,” she said. “They never see the patients again. But this makes it all worth it, when the people really do come back to visit.”
The Hawthorne family, who lives on Franklin Corner Road, had traveled to Oregon last September to take part in Justin Hawthorne’s wedding. The accident occurred when Kelli and her new friend, Evan Alexander, took a stroll to get a closer look at the stars in the sky.
She raced ahead of Evan and called out that she had found a set of steps to the beach, but she missed and fell off the cliff. She landed on some rocks. Her head was stuck between the rocks and her feet were pointing straight up. Evan found her by the glow of his iPhone.
Rescuers extricated Kelli from her rocky landing place, and rushed her to the local hospital and then to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital, which is one of the two trauma hospitals in Portland. She had suffered numerous broken bones, lung contusions, a shattered jaw, several missing or chipped teeth, and many cuts and bruises.
Now, one year and nearly $150,000 worth of unpaid medical bills later, the Hawthorne family is holding a fundraiser next week to help pay down those bills. More fundraisers are planned over the next few months.
Set for Sept. 25 at the Lawrence Grill at the Quaker Bridge Mall, this fundraiser has been billed as “Lucki to be Alive at 25! Birthday Bash Fundraiser to Help Rebuild Kelli’s Smile.”
The event runs from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with a minimum donation of $25 at the door, and features hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine and soda.
A silent auction includes autographed sports memorabilia, tickets to New York shows and sporting events, and donated vacation homes from the Colorado ski slopes to the Georgia beaches.
Meanwhile, Kelli looks “fabulous,” her mother said Tuesday night. The Hawthorne family had returned home earlier in the day, following the six-day visit to Oregon that began last week.
Kelli recently underwent the first of three surgeries to reconstruct her jaw, Ms. Hawthorne said. Another surgery is planned for November, and the third one will follow a few months later. She still has a lip reconstruction surgery to undergo, her mother said.
Kelli also is slowly recovering from the brain injury that she suffered, Ms. Hawthorne said. The family was told that it would take 18 to 24 months for her to recover from the brain injury, and she has made progress.
”I can see it in her,” Ms. Hawthorne said. “It’s the clarity. The brain is a marvelous thing. Kelli can read better than she used to (following the accident). It is hard for any of us to believe it has been a year, her recovery has gone so fast.”
In the meantime, Kelli is volunteering at St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, where she underwent therapy for her injuries when she returned home. Kelli also has found a “new” version of herself that is creative and loves to make cards, birdhouses and new things out of discarded items.
For more information on the Kelli Hawthorne fundraiser, please contact [email protected].
