I am a Hamber student from a presentation you gave today, April 22nd. I couldn't find your email on the website, but I wanted to thank you for sharing your story with us today. When I first walked into the auditorium and saw the tissue box, I rolled my eyes as I took one. Now, I wish I'd taken more. By the end, I had had to take two more from my friend beside me. 

I'm not driving very much yet as I just turned 16, and I wouldn't really trust my friends to drive me anywhere even if they had their N's, but your presentation has still changed the way I think about driving. Before, I mostly worried about driving safely in pedestrian areas, and places with lots of cars, but I have never thought about the dangers of driving in emptier areas, or even about the dangers of speeding, especially if the road is empty. I've changed my perspective, and hopefully I will be a better and safer driver/passenger because of it.

Thank you for all that you shared with us, and for allowing yourself to share your story so completely. My mother was involved in a car accident about 9 years ago. It was an early morning in January, and she hit a passenger as she made a turn. The passenger died. I didn't know very much about the accident when I was younger, and I still don't know a lot. I'm only beginning to realize the dramatic effect this event had on her life, as she tells more stories and shares more with me. After her accident, she received a lot of flowers and cards, and the community really supported her, and she got counselling right away, and she still struggled. It was a very difficult time for her, even if it wasn't apparent to me as a child. In the years following the accident, I would hear her crying in a doorway, standing with my dad. I now realize that she was grieving the accident. 

I'm so sorry for what happened to you and your family. I can't imagine what you had to go through, after hearing how your community shut you out after the accident, and the fact that you were able to make it through and share your story and your vulnerability is a testament to your strength. I know that you made a difference in all of our lives today (for the rest of the day I heard conservations about driving and family and "tickling your dreams").

Our school is a better place for your visit! Thank you for your presentation!