Gina Guddat, director of FIT Decisions, shares her story about her daughter's life-threatening car accident.

"I was busy with a client and so I ignored the ringing phones. I have always had a strict rule of staying focused on my clients for the hour in which they are paying for my services. But that morning, the business line, the home line, and my cell phone were all ringing at the same time. 'Those blasted solicitors' is all I was thinking.

Finally, I pressed '1' for messages and froze at the sound of my 16-year-old’s voice. It shook with fear and pain. All she said was that she had been in a bad car accident and I needed to hurry...

Frustrated that I did not know where she was or how severe it had been, I pressed save on the menu and listened to the next message. It was my ex-husband. 'Gina, Mackenzie has been in a bad accident. She says if you don’t get here, she won’t make it.'

I ran for my purse and keys as I pressed 'save' on my cell to get to the next entry. The next message came from the school, then the security guard, the police, my mother, my mother-in law, my ex again……Lord, the high school emergency chain actually worked. Every year, all parents are made to fill out information cards on our children. 'In case of emergency call the following numbers.' I barely remember scratching out the information on the form, but now I am thankful that I did.

Everyone was mobilizing. Everyone but me! Where was she? Think. At 8:30 a.m. she usually left the high school and headed towards the community college, where she took college prep classes. She must have been somewhere along that route. Running on pure adrenaline, I headed to the high school.

Halfway up the large winding hill that led to the campus, I noticed traffic was completely stopped! Flashing lights, fire trucks and ambulances were a dead giveaway that this was the scene of the accident. My daughter was somewhere a mile ahead, and I was stuck at the back of a long line of cars—cars filled with swearing individuals who are angry that they are going to be late for work. Didn’t they know this was my daughter?

Frantically, I flung the door of my car open, leaped out and started running. With the stamina of a cross-country athlete, I raced up the hill, following the lights and sirens. Then I saw it—the ambulance, pulling out toward me. I jumped in front of the vehicle, waving my arms like a mad woman.

'Are you the mother?' one of the EMTs shouted.

 'Yes, let me in!'

The back of the truck opened and an out-stretched arm briskly yanked me into the moving truck. My focus was on my daughter. She was laying on a stretcher, in a neck and back brace, shaking and in shock.

Thank God, I did not see Mackenzie’s demolished car when I reached the accident site, or the semi truck that had sped into her, head-on. Even now, looking at the pictures makes my stomach turn. You can see where the engine was forced through the firewall, through the console, and into the front seat. Pieces of the car that belonged under the hood now laid in the passenger seat and the break and accelerator pedals were squished together where her leg had been jammed and crushed.

All I really saw was my little girl and her weak voice as she whispered, 'Mom, you made it.' Yes, I made it. A mom will always make it. She will leave her car running in the middle of the road to make it. She will always follow her instincts and go to whatever extremes are needed to reach her child.

Now, three months and four surgeries later, we are hopeful that Mackenzie will walk again sometime this year. Whether due to airbags, angels, amazing surgeons, or a combination of them all… Mackenzie is alive.  As the mother of two teenage drivers, my eyes are opened to the perils of the road.

Just my independent research revealed that 16-year-olds have the highest crash risk of any other age driver (and that is not related to drunk driving). Simple inexperience, immaturity, and the naïve misconception of invincibility can be a deathly combination."

Click on an image to see Gina's personal photos from the accident.