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Hope for girl remains firm
By CHRIS TISCH © St. Petersburg Times, published January 24, 2001 As more than 100 people prayed for her two stories below, 17-year-old Angela Bernardini squirmed like a fish in her hospital bed. When nurses later told her family that she had moved Friday night, they believed their prayers had reached her from below, that she could feel them praying for her even though she still was in a coma. "We thought maybe she was getting the vibe," said Debra Strange, the mother of Angela's fiance, Robert Strange. Just that morning there had been terrific news: A doctor had asked Angela to wiggle her right toes. They wiggled. Then he asked her to wiggle her left toes. They, too, wiggled. Then he asked her to stick out her tongue. Out it came. The swelling in her brain, which had been a great concern, had dipped. A tube that had been placed in her head to drain fluids and alleviate the pressure had been removed. The family's joy at the news was compounded by nurse's testimony that Angela, who has been unconscious since being critically injured in a Jan. 12 car accident, had twisted in her bed while her loved ones prayed for her outside Bayfront Medical Center. But the next day brought bad news. A test of her saliva showed both pneumonia and a bacterial infection had formed in Angela's lungs. She no longer responded to doctors' orders that she move her toes or tongue. Visitors are forced to wear rubber gloves and a mask when they enter her tiny room. Angela is receiving antibiotics to help battle her infection. "She's just taken a little bit of a back step," Debra Strange said. "Now she's not doing anything." Then doctors planned to perform a tracheotomy in hopes that it will help her breathe more comfortably. Family members and loved ones, who have been by Angela's side for 12 days, are optimistic, though concerned. Angela was listed in serious condition Tuesday. "We were so excited because the nurses told us she was jumping around and moving and we thought she could feel our prayers," Strange said. "And then we were so bummed out on Saturday." Strange said the family was allowed to bring a CD player into Angela's room. They are playing her favorite Christian albums for her. A teacher from Largo High School, where Angela is an outstanding student, also came and read to her. Angela is a senior who has been accepted at the International Academy of Art and Design in Tampa, where she plans to study interior design. She was injured Jan. 12 as she drove from school to the Pinellas County courthouse in Clearwater, where she worked. As she made a left turn from Missouri Avenue onto Belleair Road, another motorist ran a red light and struck her Mazda 626, Clearwater police said. The other motorist, Robert Lee Knowles, was driving with a suspended license. He also was wanted on two misdemeanor warrants. Knowles and his passenger, Timothy Giezentanner, 22, also were injured. They were taken to Bayfront Medical Center and later were released. Knowles was arrested on two charges of driving with a suspended license with serious injury. He also was arrested on warrants for driving with a suspended license and violating terms of probation he receive on burglary and battery charges. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday on $16,000 bail. He has a six-page rap sheet that includes DUIs in 1993 and 1997, along with another suspended license charge in 1997, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. Strange said the candlelight vigil Friday night was lovely, with people praying and talking about Angela. Loved ones videotaped messages of love to her. The hospital chaplain said a prayer. "Some of the people there were strangers. They didn't even know her," Strange said. "It was beautiful."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
