Hit-and-Run Victim Back Home

Just wants to be "normal" again

After spending weeks in the hospital and in rehabilitation, hit-and-run survivor Sarah Goone will finally be able to sleep in her own bed Thursday night.

The New Trier High School student is back at home after suffering considerable brain damage from being hit by a car three weeks ago. Goone’s father, David, posted the update on their family’s Caringbridge.org  blog.

“The last two and a half weeks were a blur, like one long day that never seemed to end,” he wrote. “It has been a nightmare for us, but we are heading back to some normalcy.”

The entire Goone family has been impacted by the accident, with Sarah’s parents virtually living with her at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and caring for her day and night. They still stay awake with her to make sure she doesn’t lie on her left side --the portion of her head where there is no bone.

Sarah has been improving physically, the family reports, but still needs to work on mental capabilities.

"Her occupationall therapists took her on a long walk to a grocery store and ask her to find several items on a shopping list," the family blog notes. "Sarah did well, certainly better than her Dad would have.Her short term memory and her vocabulary are continuing to progress, and she is working on building her mental endurance."

David writes, however, that she experiences substantial mood swings, and is still having trouble with word pronunciation and comprehension. 

"We have talked to several people who have had brain injuries," David writes on the blog. "Many tell us they have swings in their emotions and that they are hard to control. Sarah tells us she cannot understand why at times she is so upset, we tell (her) this is normal given what she just went through. We tell her she just needs time. I am sure that is difficult for a 16 year old to hear."

The suspected perpetrator in the hit-and-run, 18-year-old Erin Hughes, allegedly struck Goone with her car May 14. Hughes is awaiting trial on three counts of felony charges.  

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