By MELISSA NOLAND
Student Writer
An Enid campus psychology professor severely injured in a car accident last semester, has had to take leave again to deal with more surgery.
Sherril Stone, an associate professor of psychology, was hurt in the accident along Highway 81 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. She said earlier this week that she would be leaving the Enid campus for more surgery and therapy.
The accident occurred when Stone’s vehicle was struck from behind by a semi-truck, which resulted in her car crashing into the vehicle in front of her. Both of the vehicles were totaled.
Stone’s injuries included herniated discs in her neck along with a severe brain injury that resulted in continuing serious headaches.
Treatments for these injuries included having to have a neck fusion and injections into her spinal canal to try to control the swelling and pain. Stone said she is facing another fusion surgery in her neck to relieve pressure that has been built up on the spinal cord. “The pinching has caused me to lose feeling in my arms, hands and legs,” she said. This surgery will call for another recovery process of several weeks.
Stone said the most difficult part of the recovery is the brain trauma. She may never fully recover from the memory loss. “I am very grateful to all of my students who have supported me and continue to support me in classes” she said.
Stone also has limited motion in her neck and still suffers from headaches.
“I have been told some of the funny things I said and did while I recovered from the memory loss,” she. “I must admit that at first I was embarrassed to hear the stories but have accepted it as part of the process and am glad that I was able to provide some humor to the situation.”
She said one of the funniest stories involved her calling Dr. Steve Mackie and asking him to “water my elephant.” Mackie, who teaches education classes at the Enid campus, agreed to “take care of it for me.”
Stone said she now has a deeper respect for anyone who suffers from a traumatic brain injury.
Also, the response from the community has been so welcoming and heartfelt, she said. The campus even organized food drives and sent many cards, thoughts and prayers, she said.
Stone said she doesn’t know most of the people who helped but wishes she could thank them all. “I am especially thankful to Jessica Blanchard and Gabriel Dunbar for organizing the food drive,” Stone said. “I am also thankful for the students from the Enid campus who donated and delivered food to me while I was in recovery. Also, I am very grateful for the faculty who covered my classes while I was out. I would like to thank all of those who donated time for me during my recovery. I am thankful for each one of them.”
Stone said she sends a special thanks to Dr. Colleen Golightly, who also teaches at Enid, and Dr. Mary Ellen Nutter, now retired. Both women helped immediately after the accident occurred. “I appreciate all of the assistance Dr. [Bo] Hannaford [dean of the School of Professional Studies] provided while I was in recovery,” she said. “And finally, Tami Cooper, HR director, was a great help in keeping all of the paperwork filed correctly.”