She can’t begin using a prosthetic until the bone heals, and she is now expected to receive her mobility aid in mid-January.
Ashley can’t wait until she can get around without a wheelchair, so she can play with her twin sisters and friends, return to school and spend a lot less time lying in bed.
Ashley and her family know she is very lucky to be alive after she was hit by a suspected drunk driver July 22 and dragged half a mile down the road on her bicycle.
That awful event changed her life. But Ashley remains upbeat, and she and her family are grateful for the doctors, nurses and medical staff who treated her and who are helping her recover.
Ashley said she feels bad for the sick and injured kids stuck in the hospital, especially around the holidays. She hopes the community will step up to support them.
“There’s a lot of people in the hospital, and I want to tell a lot of people to donate to them because they are having a hard time,” Ashley said. “I want to wish every kid in the hospital and in the world a merry Christmas and I hope a lot of people donate to Dayton Children’s to help a lot of kids.”
On a recent December night, there were 133 kids in inpatient care at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
Hit-and-run
Ashley Escalante is a bright, articulate young girl with a big heart who is a student at Immaculate Conception School. She loves the animated Disney film “Lilo & Stitch” and has many stuffed animals, clothing and decorations featuring the title characters, mainly the lovable extraterrestrial troublemaker, Stitch.
Five months ago, on July 22, Ashley was riding her bike to the Family Dollar store on the 1200 block of Wayne Avenue in Dayton when she was hit by a suspected drunk driver while she was crossing the street.
The SUV driver turned left onto Wayne Avenue even though Ashley and her family were in the crosswalk.
The driver nearly struck Ashley’s mother, Mayra Martinez, who was carrying her 1-year-old daughter Aneley. Mayra and Aneley fell to the pavement, and the infant suffered scrapes and bruises to her face and forehead.
The SUV dragged Ashley and her bicycle half a mile down the road, to Keowee Street.
Dayton police said the suspect, 56-year-old Jeffrey Atkinson, fled but was followed by witnesses and was arrested after driving to a bar he owned in East Dayton. Police say Atkinson was very intoxicated.
“Mr. Atkinson was more than four times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood system,” said Dayton police Sgt. Gordon Cairns. An attorney for Atkinson declined to comment at this time. His client faces multiple felony criminal charges.
Ashley was badly injured. She was in a coma for about 10 days and remained in the hospital for about 50 days.
Ashley’s left foot was amputated above the ankle, and much of the skin on her right foot and lower leg was torn off. She nearly lost her right foot.
Ashley needed skin grafts, and her right leg is in a brace and wrapped in bandages because it still has wounds that need to heal.
“It’s taking very long — it’s hard,” Ashley said. “I’m recovering good but slowly.”
Road to recovery
The hit-and-run crash has taken a toll on Ashley’s family.
Ashley has undergone more than 25 surgeries, and her family says her medical bills already exceed $1 million and are certain to climb even higher.
Her father, Carlos Escalante, was unable to work for four months because he was busy caring for his daughter.
Ashley still has to go to lots of appointments.
Her mother, Mayra, 28, said her daughter has always been resilient and brave. But she admits this has been a very rough time.
Ashley said she is no longer in physical pain, but she misses her old life.
She misses going to school and seeing her classmates, running around outside, hanging out with friends, playing with her sisters and doing other normal kid stuff.
“Jeffrey Atkinson changed my life forever,” she said. “He made me lose the opportunity to go to school and see my friends again. ... I really hope that this doesn’t happen to another family.”
Martinez said she does not wish ill on anyone, even the driver who nearly killed her daughter. But she said she hopes justice is served and the driver spends many years in jail.
Holiday wish
Ashley was hoping to get her prosthetic limb today, but her family said God had other plans, and she’ll have to wait a little longer.
Her family plans to spend Christmas Day baking cookies and visiting family. Ashley learned how to make chocolate chip cookies while in occupational therapy.
Ashley said she’d love to get a “Lilo & Stich” toy for Christmas, to add to her collection.
But what she really wants most is for people to open up their hearts and wallets to help kids who are receiving medical care at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
Ashley said she feels for the kids who are injured and ill whose families have large medical bills. She said they need help and support. Dayton Children’s accepts donations and gifts for kids in its care.
Last year, Dayton Children’s had more than 500,000 patient visits, over 100,000 emergency room visits, and its staff performed more than 13,000 surgeries.
Virtually every child who comes to the hospital leaves with something, such as gifts and toys, said Jennifer Garcia, donor communications strategist with Dayton Children’s.
“There’s a lot of ways to donate and give back to the hospital,” she said.
Cash donations help caregivers and medical staff buy kids supplies, equipment or technology, Garcia said.
The hospital also needs volunteers and welcomes donations of new toys, games, books, clothes and blankets, she said. Used and homemade items are not accepted.
Dayton Children’s has an Amazon wish list containing items for the holidays and products for play and distraction, patient celebrations, music therapy, mental and behavioral health and other purposes.
Garcia said play and having fun is part of the healing process, and Dayton Children’s has special parties and activities during the holidays. She said the hospital always sees an increase in donations around the holidays, but they are needed year-round.
“One of the jobs of our foundation is to help people find a way to get involved or to give back when they feel called to do that,” Garcia said. “It can be really therapeutic for somebody who has been through an experience in the hospital to want to pay it forward and make a positive experience out of that, especially if they’ve been through something scary or traumatic.”
“Giving back is really a way to kind of turn that negative into a positive, and it can be really healing for people,” she said.
Ashley still has lots of recovery work ahead, and her family still has memories of that terrible day. Her family tries to avoid Wayne Avenue to avoid reliving some of their trauma. But Ashley is still positive today.
“I want to wish every kid in the hospital and in the world a merry Christmas.”
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