It was the first time Sarah was able to utter these words since September 22nd 1984. That was the day, a drunken driver hit Sarah, leaving her speechless and brain damaged.
Scantlin's parents, Betsy and Jim, were unaware that their daughter had uttered her first words nearly a month ago. Sarah did not want to tell her parents for fear she would relapse. Her doctors and nurses agreed to wait until Valentine's Day to share the news with Mr. and Mrs. Scantlin and Sarah's brother.
After continued progress, Valentine's Day came early for the Scantlin family.
On Saturday, February 12th 2005, at Golden Plains Health Care Center in Hutchinson, Kansas, Sarah's parents introduced their daughter as the guest of honor at a reception for friends, family members and reporters. Together, they celebrated their thirty-eight year-old baby's first words.
Since mid-January, Sarah has not only begun to form words, she has begun to regain her memory.
For years, she could only blink her eyes -- one blink for "no," two blinks for "yes" -- to respond to questions that no one knew for sure she understood.
100% Sarah
Blinking back tears yesterday, Jim Scantlin said,
I am astonished how primal communication is. It is a key element of humanity.
She's 100 percent Sarah again.
The family is back together, and it's just simply a joyous situation
Jim's daughter was an 18 year-old college freshman when her life was nearly snuffed out.
She was walking to her car after celebrating with friends at a teen club when a drunk driver came out of nowhere and hit her.
Earlier that week, she had earned a spot on the Hutchinson Community College drill team. She had also been hired to work at an upscale clothing store.
The drunken driver left the scene of the accident, was eventually caught, but only served six months in jail for driving under the influence.
Today, the Scantlins feel like they have their baby back after two decades of silence.
Scantlin's doctor, Bradley Scheel, said physicians are not sure why she suddenly began talking but believe critical pathways in the brain may have regenerated.
Pat Rincon, the nursing home's activity director, had been working with a small group of other patients, attempting to get them to speak.
Rincon was working with another resident who was finally able to utter the word "OK." When Scantlin, who was behind Rincon, repeated the words, "OK, OK."
"It just happened one day and nobody really knows why," said Sharon Kuepker, administrator for the Golden Plains Health Care Center.
Jennifer Trammell, a licensed nurse at the Golden Plains Health Care Center where Sarah has been making it day-by-day, gave a call to Sarah's parents a week ago.
Jennifer asked Betsy, Sarah's mother, if she was sitting down.
Jennifer told her there was someone on the phone who wanted to talk with her.
"Hi, mom," were the first words Betsy heard on the speaker phone.
Her mother responded, "Sarah, is that you?"
The throaty reply on the other was "Yes!"
After asking how she was doing, Sarah's mother asked her later in the conversation, "Do you need anything?"
"More makeup" was Sarah's reply.
"Did she just say more makeup?" Betsy asked Jennifer.
And so it began.
A month ago, Sarah began a new phase of development -- much like the one Sarah's mother experienced with her thirty-seven years ago, as a toddler.
While her parents know their daughter will never fully recover, this Valentine's Day gift is more than they ever expected.
"I didn't think it would ever happen, it had been so long," Betsy Scantlin said.
"You condition yourself to be able to try to deal with something like this, and then all of the sudden, the world instantly changed from despair to joy because it's amazing how important communication is between human beings," her father said.
Before sharing the good news with her parents, family and friends, Sarah worked with a speech therapist, who intensified her work in anticipation of hoping to "show off" Sarah's progress.
Sarah's doctors, nurses and support team did not not want to get Sarah's parents' hopes up until they were sure Sarah would not relapse, Jennifer Trammell said.
While Sarah is unlikely to ever leave the health care center, she is having fun learning all she can about the outside world. She watches the news and soap operas from her room. She already knows what a CD is.
If someone hadn't told her otherwise, Sarah would thinks it's the 1980s and she is still about 22.
But the words out of her mouth this weekend were universal and timeless.
"I love you," she told her parents and brother.
What a gift! A miraculous gift!
Inspire & Be Inspired.
Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "never giving up hope" living!
~ Jennifer Carolyn King
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