Mt. Airy fighter does not let disability define her

Posted 1/27/16

Sue Bovell, of Mt. Airy, was given a one-in-10 chance of survival after a horrific accident that left her in a coma for 30 days. But Sue defied the odds, despite losing her eyesight. (Photo by Len …

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Mt. Airy fighter does not let disability define her

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Sue Bovell, of Mt. Airy, was given a one-in-10 chance of survival after a horrific accident that left her in a coma for 30 days. But Sue defied the odds, despite losing her eyesight. (Photo by Len Lear) Sue Bovell, of Mt. Airy, was given a one-in-10 chance of survival after a horrific accident that left her in a coma for 30 days. But Sue defied the odds, despite losing her eyesight. (Photo by Len Lear)

Blinded in car crash, in coma for 30 days

Mt. Airy fighter does not let disability define her

By Constance Garcia-Barrio

The crash came so fast that night 20 years ago that Sue Bovell, now 48, riding to a concert in Wildwood with friends, had no chance to brace herself. Airlifted to the Cooper Medical Center with a horrific head injury, the Mt. Airy resident had a one-in-10 chance of survival, the neurologists said. "Doctors told my parents and three brothers that even if survived, I would be a vegetable,” Sue said.

The doctors' prognosis seemed accurate at first because Sue remained comatose for 30 days. Her family kept a bedside vigil. "My mom said that I got restless when I had longer periods of consciousness, but that time is still foggy for me," she said.

As Sue grew stronger, she seemed eager for freedom. "My parents told me that I would try to climb out of bed. I don't remember that." Sue's efforts seem all the more remarkable because the accident had left her totally blind.

The head trauma had inflicted even more damage. "My brain was like scrambled eggs," said Sue, who was a receptionist at the Chestnut Hill Health and Fitness Center — now closed — before the accident.

"I couldn't communicate and didn't have comprehension. I had to learn everything again, how to get dressed, even how to swallow because I'd had a tracheotomy. Nurses taught me to swallow by giving me sorbets. I guess that's why I like sorbets so much now."

When doctors deemed her strong enough, Sue returned home and began outpatient rehabilitation care at Einstein Hospital. A glimmer of hope came amid the tedium of relearning tasks of daily living. By following her movements, the staff at Einstein suspected that Sue might have a tiny bit of vision.

Tests at Wills Eye Hospital confirmed that Sue had regained five percent of the vision in her right eye. "I have tunnel vision in the right eye now," she said. "I can see clearly things that are directly in front of me. For example, I can recognize a person's face," said the lifelong Mt. Airy resident. "My biggest fear is losing what little eyesight I have."

Recovering that bit of vision seemed miraculous, but challenges lay ahead. Sue had to run a gauntlet of agencies and spend months on a waiting list for mobility training so that she could get around.

"I was housebound while my friends were going on with their lives," she said. "My mom would read me news stories and the funnies from the newspapers to lift my spirits, but it was hard just staying home." Gradually, Sue taught herself to read again by sounding out words, a process that took patience.

Help for Sue's tough times came from an unexpected source. "It was the cats who got me out of my shell," she said. "I've always liked cats, and I would watch our two cats and tell my mom what they had done when she came home," said Sue, whose mother worked at Roxborough Memorial Hospital before she retired.

It also cheered Sue when employees and members of the Chestnut Hill Health and Fitness Center took up a collection to help pay for her medical bills. "They were so kind," she said. "I'll always be grateful to them."

In time, the Delco Blind & Sight Center provided a mobility trainer. "I learned how to use one of those red and white canes to get around," Sue said. "That's important because I can't see the curb or peripheral objects. The instructor taught me how to get from home to the train station near Gowen Street on the Chestnut Hill East line.

“The conductor on the train made friends with me. He would sit and talk with me. I would get off at Suburban Station and catch the subway to West Philly. It was great to get out and be with people after all that time at home."

At the Elwyn Institute campus in West Philadelphia, Sue, who had attended Cardinal Dougherty High School and graduated from the Parkway Program, updated her clerical skills and learned how to use computers.

Since her training at Elwyn, Sue has had clerical jobs and has also worked as a cashier, but downsizings and closings have let her unemployed at times. "It can be hard to get work to begin with because people assume that my impairment makes me unqualified or unable to do things, but I have clerical skills and people skills," said Sue, who volunteers at major hospitals doing filing and mass mailings.

Bovell was hired as a cashier in June, 2013, by the CVS at 7445 Germantown Ave. in Mt. Airy. Last July 17, Sue brought a lawsuit in federal court against CVS, claiming that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in August, 2014. The suit contends that a new supervisor reduced her hours in May, 2014, after he allegedly observed her using a walking cane but did not reduce the hours of able-bodied cashiers.

The suit contends that management suspended her on Aug. 18, 2014, and terminated her on Aug. 28, 2014, for not being able to detect counterfeit bills at the cash register, when in fact counterfeit status could only be determined by a special machine.

Sue insisted that her limited sight has actually sharpened some of her other senses. "My hearing is phenomenal. I hear little things that other people don't notice at all. I also like to walk, listen to music and run on my treadmill." She also enjoys baseball and has a wide enough view to follow the game if she sits well back from the television.

"My mom and I are Phillies fans, and we like watching games together. Most of all, I like to talk with people and be around them," Sue said. "My wish for 2016 is a part-time job that keeps me in touch with people."

Sue can be contacted at seb67@comcast.net.

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