LANSING, MI — On the night Rasha and Vontresse Thomas got in their car with their 8 month old daughter Jaida, they were doing what any responsible couple would do, preparing themselves for a smooth ride in the morning. Rasha was starting a new job and they wanted to make sure he knew exactly where it was. They had no idea that a simple trip on April 7, 2004, would change their lives forever.
A few hours earlier, Vontresse went to see a passion play at a local church with 
her friend, Michelle King. A passion play is about the suffering, passion, death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter was right around the corner and the Thomas family was preparing themselves for a joyous time. Spirits were high because of Rasha’s new job and Easter would provide more time for them to spend at church and with extended family and friends.
As Rasha drove down Grand River Avenue around 9:30 p.m., he was unaware that a drunk driver was being chased by the police. He was driving in excessive of 115 miles an hour and rear-ended the Chevy Tahoe that the Thomas’ were driving in.
Vontresse said, “I was in the back seat feeding my daughter because she would not hold her own bottle. I was not wearing a seat belt because I was in the back seat. I do not do that anymore. I wear my seatbelt any time I sit in the car, no matter how long or short the distance.”
It was the last thing she remembered.
After the terrible crash, Rasha was found by a police officer wandering outside of the car on the side of the road asking for his wife. He miraculously got out of the car within seconds of the accident. The family is still unsure how Rasha made it out of the car since he was unable to fit through any of the windows and the doors were jammed shut.
They found Vontresse lying face down and unconscious in the middle of Grand River Avenue. She had been ejected from the truck as It rolled 3 times and flipped end over end after impact. As emergency responders were tending to Rasha and Vontresse, an EMT that had attended their church heard the accident on his scanner. He came to the scene to see if he could help.
Vontress was told when he arrived there he asked, “Where is the baby?”.
Vontress took a deep breath and said, “Jaida was still in the truck upside down. It took 45 minutes for them to realize that she was there and get her out of the vehicle before they towed it away.”
Call to Action
Upon hearing the distressing news, Arthur “Tizom” Thomas, Rasha’s father called all the believers he knew and asked them to pray for his son’s family.
“I believe that the prayers that went forth had a profound effect on my recovery and the supernatural healing that took place. Later I would get calls and run into people who would say they never knew the extent of the situation but they knew to pray and that God would heal everyone involved. I truly believe that is why everything happened so supernaturally fast,” said Vontresse.
The Thomas family was transported to Sparrow Hospital. According to the Thomas’ the hospital found that Jaida had a broken neck and a broken rib and after 3 scans were taken the breaks began to disappear until they were no longer there. Jaida was released the next day on April 8th.
Rasha was diagnosed with a closed head injury. He would repeat himself over and over again as if he had not just been given information a few minutes before. He had bruises and scrapes but his major injury was the loss of short term memory resulting from the accident. To this day he still has issues remembering things surrounding the time of the accident. He met with doctors and a psychologist and received instructions on how to strengthen his memory and ability to tolerate light and sounds.
Internal Damage
Vontresse was in serious condition after being ejected from the truck she had a broken C2 vertebrae. Instead of operating, she wore a neck collar for 3 months, which provided support and cervical spine immobilization. She did not experience numbness or loss of feeling so she did not need surgery.
She lost teeth as a result of being ejected from the vehicle. She had road rash, which are burns, on her face and body from hitting the pavement so hard. Her injuries so severe that she had butterfly stitches down the right side of her face to help it heal. She also had a laceration in the top of my scalp that required 54 staples to close.
In addition, she broke her pelvis in 3 places and also broke 3 toes on her left foot. Because of her injuries she had to wear a boot on her left foot and use a walker to get around relieving some of the pressure on her broken pelvis. At the time of the accident they wanted to allow the pelvis to heal on its own because it was broken but still in place.
Vontresse said, “I was in intensive care at Sparrow. I remember seeing visitors and knew who they were but I was unaware of the date or the injuries I had sustained.”
Her mother, Valerie Brown was very cautious when letting people come see her. She would instruct them to not react to the way she looked in order not to alarm Vontresse or cause her realize the enormous impact of what had happened instead of believing I was healed and my family was going to be all right.
There were no mirrors. Vontresse recalled that she could not tell anything from looking at the visitor’s faces as they did a great job of not reacting to her injuries.
Her friend, Michelle, would visit her in the hospital every day. She brought her gospel music and read from the Bible.
Vontresse said, “One morning she was visiting me and I was in and out of consciousness. One of the times I came to I asked her why did this happen. She later told me that as she sat there trying to come up with the words to say I responded to my own question with ‘Satan you are a liar, get your hands off of my family’. She said she knew then that God was working on the inside of me. She would tell me later that she could feel the healing of God in the room and she could visibly see me healing from day to day.”
Forgiveness
Vontresse recounted that one day in the hospital one of the nurses was giving her a shower when she asked her if she forgave the person who hit us. She said she told her absolutely.
“I had to; my forgiveness for this situation was only going to help me in the healing process. He was in the same hospital and actually checked himself out against medical advisement. He went into to hiding and they were not able to find and arrest him until the 21th April, the day I was to have surgery on my pelvis,” said Vontresse.
With all of her injuries Vontresse told Rasha she would be home for his birthday (one week later on April 14). He was skeptical due to my injuries. However, he refused to speak against her faith and late on April 13th , she was released.
Back Home
Vontresse had to attend follow up appointments with the doctors from the emergency room. When she had the staples removed from her scalp she asked if I could keep them. She said she told the resident who was attending to her, “If I ever forget I have a purpose or that God has my back, I can look at this container of staples as a reminder to be grateful for all that I have.”
At a follow up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, she found out that her pelvis had shifted and it was imperative that I go to Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills to have surgery that same night.
This was the first time since the accident Vontresse broke down and began to weep the brevity of what happened to her and her family. Between sobs she began to summons the strength to prepare herself for what was to come.
“There were only 2 doctors in the country to did the surgery that I required and one was in Farmington Hills. I would have to have surgery because my pelvis was no longer aligned and the broken bone was in the position where if I were to fall that it would puncture my kidney. We then prepared to travel to Farmington Hills to get ready for surgery,” said Vontresse.
The nightmare had just begun for Vontresse as she prayed silently that the outcome would be favorable. She ended up having a 4 inch screw and a plate placed in her pelvis to repair it. The surgery lasted 6 hours.
Vontresse said, “They attempted to put a halo on me due to my neck injuries because they did not want me to have something to go wrong once surgery was complete when the breathing tube was removed. They had a young lady had this happened to a few weeks before I was there and she became paralyzed. They did not want the liability with me. So Rasha and I had to decide what we were going to do. I told him that “we are accepting too much. We decided to sign the wavier and not get the Halo. It was not an easy decision but we made it. We trusted God and my neck healed completely without a Halo or surgery.”
As she recovered, they opted to have her mother provide care for her in place of a nurse. She would come over at 7 am every day to take care of me. It was difficult and challenging since she could do nothing for herself.
Vontresse said, “My mother was a great help during this time, she would shower me, comb my hair, make meals and take care of Jaida. I could not pick Jaida up because she was over the weight limit allowed by the doctors. They would sit her on my lap for me to hold her but I was unable to pick her up or care for her. During the times that my mom was not there Rasha and I used our phones as an intercom system.”
Rasha had the bed removed and replaced with a hospital bed. He slept in a different room because of his sensitivity to light. When Vontresse needed assistance or Jaida was crying she would push the transfer button on the phone to signal him to come help her. That was how they maintained from about 7 pm until the next morning when her mother arrived.
In May of 2004, Vontresse’s top and bottom front teeth replace with veneers and had her molars repaired. The collar was removed in July of 2004 and she was able to walk unassisted due to physical therapy after the surgery to repair my pelvis. She went to rehab 3 times a week for 3 months. She did not complain and worked hard and amazed the therapists with her joy for life and willingness to do what it took to get back to normal.
Transitions
During her stay at Sparrow, Rasha’s father stated he wanted to take the family some where warm and healing. He gave the family a trip to the Bahamas in February 2005 for his birthday; just before they left Vontresse had my final follow up with the doctor who fixed her pelvis.
At that appointment she was told that she could have another baby but we would have to have a c-section to deliver it.
Vontresse smiled and said, “I knew I had big babies – Jaida was 8.5 pounds and was concerned with being able to carry another one. But I always trust in God and his ability to give us what we need. I carried Javon without complications and on August 6, 2006 he was born. He weighed 9 pounds and I had a complication free delivery.”
Rasha and Vontresse consider the date of the accident April 7th their second birthday. They strongly believe that was the day Satan hit them with his best shot and they still came out on top. She said that she never would have wanted to go through all that they did because of the accident but she is stronger physically and spiritually because of it.
“We have defeated death with the help of our Father God and there is nothing that we will not overcome as we continue to trust in Him! We had to decide to trust God for ourselves and stop playing church or riding on the faith of our parents. It is time out for playing games and you have to understand that you are victorious! I will never look at life as a defeated victim. I am a victor in everything that comes my way,” said Vontresse.
May 22, 2011 – June 4, 2011 Edition
