By Pepper Parr
September 14, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward brought her constituents up to day on the accident she was involved in that resulted in both whiplash and a serious concussion.
One SUV hit her van and forced her into the rear of another SUX. The driver of the car that hit Meed |Ward was charged with careless driving. The Meed Ward van was written off.
Even at 95% recovery from a concussion Meed Ward will keep her council colleagues on their toes.
Meed Ward explained that at the time she thought it was a “relatively minor accident, and I was more annoyed than anything. But the next day, at the urging of friends, I attended a walk-in clinic because I felt something wasn’t right. I learned I had sustained whiplash, and tissue damage in my back.
“Worse, I was diagnosed with concussion. The double impact had snapped my head forward and back with such force my brain hit my skull on both sides – a common injury for this type of motor vehicle accident.
“The result: headache, sensitivity to light and sound, extreme fatigue, nausea. The feeling like your head is full of sawdust.”
Meed Ward said – “There is no permanent damage in my case. And the only cure is rest, lots of it.”
Rest isn’t something Meed Ward is very good at – she was writing her constituency newsletter at 4:30 in the morning. She did however take the doctor’s advice after “she told me I could either rest over the summer and be fully recovered by the fall, or maintain my usual pace and delay my recovery by six months to a year. So I took the summer off.”
“I’m 95% recovered, with a few remaining physiotherapy and concussion appointments. I expect to be fully recovered very soon. The goal is to be symptom free while maintaining my usual work pace”
We will look forward to another of her requests for a recorded vote on an issue – this city council never tells the public how members of Council voted at Standing Committee meetings. They record the vote at a city Council meeting, which is where the actual decision is made but the way each council member actually voted is not recorded – so much for accountability.
