Stevenson Motorsports

With about 20 minutes left at Barber, life was great.  We had a solid lead and were pulling away from our championship rivals.  We were also looking at our 5th straight podium and our 7th of the season.  Then the yellow came out.  We knew we would be sitting ducks on the restart but never expected the Mazda to drive right by.  We were able to maintain 2nd and thought that would still be a great result until the next yellow came.  On that restart Robin accidentally hit the pit speed button allowing the 87 to go by and then drove wide in the museum to let he 67 go by.  In a handful of minutes, we went from the top of the world to the bottom and we finished in 4th place.

After the race our team was in complete disbelief and felt nothing could be worse.  Then I received a phone call from my wife who told me my sister was in an accident and was life flighted to a neck trauma center in Austin, TX.  She was swimming with some friends when she dove into a lake and hit the bottom breaking her C1 and C5 vertebrae.  Luckilly, the break to the C1 was minimal and her freinds did an amazing job keeping her neck straight and stable until the helicopter arrived.  The doctors performed surgery on her neck upon arrival to Brackenridge hospital, and she was diagnosed as paralysed from the waist down.

I arrived in Austin on Tuesday morning to see my sister and help my mother who had been there since Monday morning.  She was still on a breathing tube and was in the ICU.  She could move her neck around and raise her arms, but they were restrained so she didn't hurt herself.  The next day they removed her breathing tube and we could talk to her.  She was in very good spirits and remembered the entire accident.  Everyday she gained movement and was very alert and optimistic about her recovery.

I returned to St. Louis on Friday night and my stepather, wife and I visited rehab centers in St. Louis.  We checked out the Barnes rehab center and St. John's and eventually went with Barnes.  Terrill continued to make progess and they started planning her move home.

As I left for Montreal, my sister was on her way back home.  She checked into the rehab center and got straight to work.  While in Montreal, I continued to get updates and she was able to wiggle her toes on Thursday.  Terrill has been to a handful of races this year, so many people know her and also know my family since about 10 people in the paddock lived in my house at one time.  It was great being at the track and being able to talk about my sister with the many people who have grown to love her.

Friday was race day and what a day it was.  Just like Barber where the yellows beat us, the lack of yellows enusred the victory.  With about 10 minutes to go I was kicking myself for pitting on the second yellow when only us and the 70 came down pit lane.  I knew we were short on fuel at the time so we made the risky decision.   Once the first TRG car came down pit lane with a few laps to go, I knew something amazing was going to happen.  Then the 69, and the other TRG car and the 07 all had problems.  At the white flag, we were in 3rd place behind the two Farnbacher cars and Robin made the final pass for the lead coming on the front straight.  It was one of the most amzing finishes I have ever been a part of and our team basically fell off the pit wall onto each other and began jumping around like a bunch of kids.   When I called home to tell everyone the news my sister had already moved her leg.  What an amazing day.

On Saturday morning I went straight to the hospital and all my sister could talk about was the race.  My whole family wants to thank everyone for their support and you can visit her message board at www.caringbridge.org/visit/terrillestabrook