Stephanie Sackmann says she’ll never forget the the phone call she got on Jan. 28 of this year.
“It’s been hard. To get that phone call at 5:30 in the morning saying that your daughter‘s been involved in a car accident…” Sackmann recalled.
Sackmann’s 16-year-old daughter, Kiera Barriskill, was rushed to the Foothills Medical Centre in critical condition after being stuck by a vehicle. She was in a coma for five days.
“My first question to the doctors was, ‘Is she going to be OK?’ That was my only concern and at that time and they couldn’t even tell us that. It was pretty heart-wrenching at the time and it still is,” said Sackmann from her home on Good Friday.
On Jan. 28 at around 4 a.m., near the intersection of 22nd Avenue Northeast and the 100 block of Pinemill Mews Northeast, police say there was a dispute between the occupants of a vehicle and a 16-year-old female pedestrian.
Police say the driver tried to leave while the pedestrian was holding on to the vehicle and that she fell and was run over.
According to police, the driver and other occupants checked on the pedestrian, but then got back in and left.
The driver, a 16-year-old boy, came forward to talk to police but the investigation is ongoing.
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Barriskill was at a sleepover at a neighbour’s house and has no memory of the what happened that night.
“I have a hard time talking about it,” Sackmann said. “It makes me sick to my stomach to think that this could’ve happened to my daughter. You hear all these stories on the news about these things happening, unfortunately more often than they should.”
Barriskill has come a long way since she was in hospital but is still not able to return to school.
“I get pounding headaches and dizzy, very tired. Everything I see is double,” Barriskill said in a soft voice. “I miss not being able to go to school or see my friends or just go out. And all the appointments get really tiring.”
She suffered serious injuries including a brain injury, multiple fractures, a blood clot, and her vision has been impaired.
Barriskill requires around-the-clock care with frequent appointments at various specialists, so her parents are unable to work. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family pay the bills.
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“She still has a lot of headaches. She’s got a lot of serious eye issues that we’re dealing with. I think we have five doctors for different issues along with all the other things she needs, like physiotherapy,” Sackmann said.
“It’s been really hard every night when we go to sleep — that’s all you think about. It scares you because I’m just concerned, is she going to wake up because she has a blood clot?”
The family is grateful for the kindness showed by the community.
“It’s amazing how people come forward just giving what they can,” said Lynda Bliss, Barriskill’s grandmother “We are so lucky to have that. It takes a lot of stress off of them.”
This isn’t the first time the family has dealt with tragedy.
In 1998, Barriskill’s dad’s 15-year-old brother was killed in a crash caused by a drunk driver.
Her grandmother still aches from that loss and has been in travelling to Calgary from B.C. to help with her son’s family here.
Now they’re focused on the routine of medical appointments, with the goal of finding ways to help Barriskill learn with impaired vision.
“We really wanted to try to make sure she’s able to graduate next year with her friends. I think that’s kind of important for her for her well-being,” Sackmann said.
The case is still under investigation but the family says they’re hopeful for an outcome soon.
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