A mother in Rock Island is still in recovery after almost losing her legs in a November crash.
The crash happened Nov. 15 at the Family Dollar at 1617 11th St., Rock Island.
Our Quad Cities News spoke with Carmen Caballero-Anderson earlier in December about the accident. After Christmas, Our Quad Cities News spoke with Carmen about her recovery process. She says the holidays motivated her more than ever.
“I can move my legs,” she said. “My thighs, other than the right one, are still fine, so the muscle is still there,” said Caballero-Anderson said. “And I can pick them up, and I can move them in the bed, and I can hold them up.”
Just a little more than a month after the crash changed her life forever, Caballero-Anderson is steadfast on walking again. She got to spend time with her family this Christmas she was hospitalized for weeks in an Iowa City hospital.
QC woman recovers after almost losing legs in accident“We had a great Christmas,” Caballero-Anderson said. “Just being able to see each other and be all in the same room together at once was amazing.”
Her family had their own hardships during the holiday season. “My husband was taking so much time off because of my accident,” Caballero-Anderson said. “The fact is that we have four kids at home as well, and he got let go at his job.”
The community pitched in to help her family. “The class of ’69, my husband’s mother’s graduating class, bough our kids Christmas presents,” Caballero-Anderson said. “Our church bought our kids Christmas presents. Christmas was not only great for me, but great for the kids.”
Many people also have donated to a GoFundMe.
“We’ve been able to buy medical supplies I need for here,” she said. “For instance the sideboard. I use a sideboard to transfer from my wheelchair to another chair.”
Caballero-Anderson says seeing her family during the holidays helped her with the recovery. “Waking up the next day and seeing family or friends put a smile on my face and gave me more motivation to move forward,” she said. “And now, being here at my grandparents house, where I don’t have three hours of rigorous therapy everyday, they can come and go as they please.”
To see the GoFundMe, visit here.
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