Opinion: Incidents of drunken driving all preventable

This is the story about how one person’s choice forever changed the life of one innocent little girl and, naturally, her parents’ lives as well.

Suddenly, they had to put aside their hopes and dreams they had been having for their little girl and instead pray for her to keep fighting to live and for her not to suffer from any injurious effects from the consequences of another person’s choices.

It all began when a woman of 21 went on an all-night drinking binge, then tried to drive home with her infant child and nephew. Her nephew frequently commented on how weird she was driving. She kept asking him to drive. He refused each time.

That morning, my dad and I went out to run an errand, which I loved going on. As this was before car seats and seat belts were enforced, I was allowed to sit on the armrest allowing me to look out of the car windows. On our way home, we saw a car driving erratically toward us. Wherever we went, she followed.

In the ensuing crash, the driver hit us almost head on. As a result, my dad suffered broken ribs, cuts and bruises. I was another story.

Upon impact, I was immediately knocked unconscious and into a coma. I was scalped on the right side of my head and underwent emergency plastic surgery to reattach my scalp. The force of the crash threw my brain against my skull, killing off a part of my brain. As a result, I lost the ability to walk, talk and do everyday basic functions at that time.

I had to undergo speech and physical therapy to learn to walk and talk again. Occupational therapy taught me to overcome the disabilities the crash left me with. To some extent, I continue occupational and physical therapy to this day.

I also had to have multiple surgeries to straighten my right foot to allow me to walk properly. I continue to have little fine-motor control on my right side and my right arm, hand and leg do not work normally.

The repercussions of the crash continue to this day. As I age, old injuries have caused new challenges to surface. The nerves on my skin are hypersensitive, causing me intense pain and itching, so I have to wear sweaters, gloves and long pants, even on the hottest of days.

I cannot teach, a lifelong dream of mine, though I hope to get enough function back to volunteer at my local high school.

I call the incident a crash rather than an accident because accidents are just that -- incidents that just happen. My crash was completely preventable. The other driver could have stayed where she was, called for a ride, or any one of several options.

As a consequence of her choice, she served six months in jail. As a consequence of her choice, I serve a life sentence.

Lesley Ledbetter, 48, lives in Portales. Contact her:

[email protected]