- May 19, 2012
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Amy Pieters' making some progress...
nos.nl
deepl translation...
She sits next to him at the table again. She nods at him, smiles occasionally in agreement. Sometimes there is a glimpse of the old Amy. It is actually the best Father's Day present that Peter Pieters could wish for.
But on the other hand: his daughter, who will not be able to defend her national road cycling title next Saturday, is not the same old one. "It's a very long road."
As she joins us last Sunday at the kitchen table in her parents' house, sitting in a wheelchair, Amy Pieters is far from the Amy she was before December 23, the day a heavy crash sent her into a coma of almost three months.
It is still the question to what extent she will be able to return to her old self after the brain damage she sustained. When father Peter touches her arm, she looks up and smiles at him. She cannot talk yet.
No longer hiding
But no matter how much patience the progress requires, the family no longer wants to hide her from the outside world. Certainly not now that the Dutch Championship is coming up, the championship where she finally took the title in 2021 after so many podium places. "People are curious to see how she is doing."
And how is she doing? "There is some progress. She is rehabilitating in Dordrecht, but in the weekends she is home now. They bring her on Friday and we bring her back on Sunday evening. That is very nice now. And it's good for her too, you can tell. "
It's a big improvement on mid-March, when she just woke up. "She woke up at a very low level. There was very little reaction from her. Very slowly that has improved over the last few months."
"She first had to learn to breathe on her own, then she had to learn to eat and now she is actually already eating completely with us. The next step is for her to learn to talk."
She is still partially paralysed. "Her right arm and right leg are not yet functional. She needs help with everything. But we remain hopeful. The doctors are also seeing progress.
Communication is increasingly possible. "She understands more and more when you ask her something. She nods yes or no. You also notice more and more that she has her own will again. That she sometimes says no. Do you want to eat? No. But despite everything, she's quite optimistic, quite cheerful in her dealings."
Connections
The frustrating thing for the family remains: the doctors cannot say a single word about the future. "There's nothing we can do about brains, they say. It has to happen on its own. The connections have to be made again on their own and that takes time. They tell us that if ten patients come in with exactly the same injury, they can also leave in ten different ways."
"We hope she can go to Woerden soon, there is a rehabilitation centre (Daan Theeuwes Centre, ed.) for younger people. That's where things can go really fast, there is attention for four hours a day, also to learn everything at the same time. Walking, talking."
Meanwhile, the thoughts of the family still prefer to avoid the crash and how exactly it came about, even though there remain question marks about it. And not everything has been said about the liability issue either, but her relatives would rather concentrate on her recovery than worry about that now.
"That cyclist Stig Broeckx? He had a very different brain injury, but he is still making progress after six years. I'd be pleased if Amy could get that far."
Langzaam gaat Amy Pieters vooruit: 'Volgende stap is dat ze weer leert praten'
Amy Pieters revalideert in Dordrecht van haar hersenletsel, maar in de weekenden is ze thuis. "Ze begrijpt steeds meer als je iets aan haar vraagt."
nos.nl
deepl translation...
She sits next to him at the table again. She nods at him, smiles occasionally in agreement. Sometimes there is a glimpse of the old Amy. It is actually the best Father's Day present that Peter Pieters could wish for.
But on the other hand: his daughter, who will not be able to defend her national road cycling title next Saturday, is not the same old one. "It's a very long road."
As she joins us last Sunday at the kitchen table in her parents' house, sitting in a wheelchair, Amy Pieters is far from the Amy she was before December 23, the day a heavy crash sent her into a coma of almost three months.
It is still the question to what extent she will be able to return to her old self after the brain damage she sustained. When father Peter touches her arm, she looks up and smiles at him. She cannot talk yet.
No longer hiding
But no matter how much patience the progress requires, the family no longer wants to hide her from the outside world. Certainly not now that the Dutch Championship is coming up, the championship where she finally took the title in 2021 after so many podium places. "People are curious to see how she is doing."
And how is she doing? "There is some progress. She is rehabilitating in Dordrecht, but in the weekends she is home now. They bring her on Friday and we bring her back on Sunday evening. That is very nice now. And it's good for her too, you can tell. "
It's a big improvement on mid-March, when she just woke up. "She woke up at a very low level. There was very little reaction from her. Very slowly that has improved over the last few months."
"She first had to learn to breathe on her own, then she had to learn to eat and now she is actually already eating completely with us. The next step is for her to learn to talk."
She is still partially paralysed. "Her right arm and right leg are not yet functional. She needs help with everything. But we remain hopeful. The doctors are also seeing progress.
Communication is increasingly possible. "She understands more and more when you ask her something. She nods yes or no. You also notice more and more that she has her own will again. That she sometimes says no. Do you want to eat? No. But despite everything, she's quite optimistic, quite cheerful in her dealings."
Connections
The frustrating thing for the family remains: the doctors cannot say a single word about the future. "There's nothing we can do about brains, they say. It has to happen on its own. The connections have to be made again on their own and that takes time. They tell us that if ten patients come in with exactly the same injury, they can also leave in ten different ways."
"We hope she can go to Woerden soon, there is a rehabilitation centre (Daan Theeuwes Centre, ed.) for younger people. That's where things can go really fast, there is attention for four hours a day, also to learn everything at the same time. Walking, talking."
Meanwhile, the thoughts of the family still prefer to avoid the crash and how exactly it came about, even though there remain question marks about it. And not everything has been said about the liability issue either, but her relatives would rather concentrate on her recovery than worry about that now.
"That cyclist Stig Broeckx? He had a very different brain injury, but he is still making progress after six years. I'd be pleased if Amy could get that far."
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