It’s a miracle that any of them are still living.

One man died.  Two family members, ages 10 and 60, were gravely injured and are patients at Vanderbilt Medical Center.  One six-year-old male child has been dismissed from the Cookeville Regional Medical Hospital; both medical centers are located in Middle Tennessee.

These are the Sunday continuing results from a horrendous Saturday night automobile crash between local educator, Jama Charlene Carter Martin, age 60 and Idan Alberto Estudillo Gutierrez, age 21.  Martin’s two grandchildren also were passengers in the car, which was totaled. As a matter of fact, both vehicles involved in the horrendous weekend crash were totaled, as several photographs reveal.

In a recent interview with Jama’s twin daughter, Laura Lynn Martin, she clarified the following regarding the 2:30 a.m. time of impact “We were just coming back to Tennessee from our summer vacation trip to Missouri and we were in Smithville picking-up Mom’s (Jama’s) car and heading to Cookeville to return the rental car.  The kids were riding with her and I was following her rental car.  Martin elaborated, “Then, this ‘drunk’ driver (Gutierrez) was “driving with no headlights on.”  Remembering the sordid details, she said, “He drove around the curve and got into the wrong lane and hit them (Jama’s rental car) ‘head on.’”

In a statement issued earlier, Laura Martin said that her family would have been “burned up” if she hadn’t been following the car and removed the occupants before the flames spread.

“The ambulance sent everyone to Cookeville Regional Medical Center.  Mom (Jama) and daughter (Aaliyah) were transferred by Emergency Medical Services to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.  Aaliya was then transferred into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, while Jama remained in the trauma unit.”  Initially, Jama, Aaliyah and Brett were taken to the Cookeville Regional Medical Center.  The former two now are on different floors and specialized care centers at Vanderbilt. 

Six-year-old Brett was discharged because “his CT scan was normal.  He only had one laceration on his left shoulder.  Aaliya and my mom were more seriously injured,” said Martin

Regarding Laura’s mom, Jama, she has “seatbelt lacerations, broken ribs, and a shattered pelvis.”  She required hip surgery and femur (leg bone) surgery this past Monday.

In a Sunday current health update, Martin wrote, “Aaliyah had a joint fracture on her skull where it connects the skull to the spine. She also has liver damage and kidney damage.”  Continuing, Martin added, “They want to do an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) on her spine and her spinal cord.  It’s causing internal bleeding.  She also has an ankle fracture, which might require pin (surgery) unless it heals on its own.

Martin was told by the Vascular physicians that her daughter’s “main aorta was damaged” and “there was fluid buildup behind her spinal cord.  She’s wearing a neck brace for the head fracture.”

With already having around five MRIs and should she require surgical-placed pins, she would not be able to look around like normal children.

“At around 4:10 p.m. Saturday, the Neurosurgeon called and confirmed that Aaliyah will require having an OC Fusion, which is a surgical procedure that stabilizes and aligns the upper cervical spine (the base of the skull and the upper neck) by fusing the base of the skull to the cervical vertebrae.  This wreck caused all the ligaments to break,” said the worried mother of two.

Continuing, “Aaliyah has a seat-belt laceration across her chest.  I just learned that she also has several broken ribs.  I am not sure when the Orthopedic Surgeon will check on her fractured ankle.”

Brett, age six, also has a seatbelt laceration across his left collarbone and shoulder.  Very sore, he was cleared to be discharged on Sunday from the Putnam County hospital.

All three passengers in Jama’s car were wearing their seat belts, according to Martin, refuting the official report by the THP. The first-person account of the laceration injuries is conclusive evidence.

In a Sunday afternoon update, both Jama and Aaliyah Martin came through their respective surgeries with flying colors.    Aaliyah has pens and screws holding her vertebrae and a plate connecting her spine to her skull.  They are continuing to watch her blood pressure, and if all continues to go well, she might get out of ICU by sometime on Monday.”  At press time, Jama still was in surgery for hip and leg repairs.

“It’s going to take a while for my daughter and my mother to heal…I haven’t slept and I can’t sleep, and I’m angry at the careless boy who did this,” she concluded.

Yes – there are medical complications almost constantly, and the friends and family are asking for your continued prayers.  It is similar to a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings.  It’s hard to make a decision.  It’s hard to see loved ones in this much pain.

Again, they’re lucky to be alive.  And they know it.  Their family knows it.  Their best prescription now is time. 

And it won’t be an easy road to travel.