IDS staff member improving after accident

Indiana Daily Student employee and student Melinda Fryman was critically injured in a car accident Feb. 6. In the two and a half weeks since, her condition has gone from critical to stable, according to officials at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.\n"She's really improved a lot," said Maria Largaespada, Fryman's mother.\nFryman, a senior, was knocked unconscious at the scene of the accident, and proceeded to fall into a coma until Friday.\nFryman's condition was improving Tuesday. She has started talking and swallowing, but the most notable change has been the difference in her voice. \n"She had such a big voice for such a small person," Largaespada said. "Her voice is very soft, almost a whisper."\nThis was caused by the ventilator being inserted for a long period of time, which slows the vocal chords. It's expected to take a while for her voice to come back to normal tone.\nAs a result of her accident, Fryman suffered a severe brain injury, a fractured skull and upper ribs, and pelvis fracture in three places. On top of the physical injuries, she is suffering from bacterial meningitis and a staph infection, which are being fought by antibiotics.\nDue to the severity of her accident, Fryman has permanently lost memory dating to close to last year's Christmas. She has no recollection of the accident and only knows it happened because of being told by her family.\nWhenever Fryman is awake, it is only for a short amount of time, and then she falls back into a sleep-like state, Largaespada said. Her family has been by her side for the entire hospital stay.\nFryman was been moved from critical care two weeks after her accident and now is on the neurological floor.\nAfter her stay at Methodist, which her mother said should be over this week, Fryman will be moved to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana in Indianapolis where she will undergo very aggressive therapy. \nShe has been withdrawn from IU for this semester, which would have been her last in Bloomington.\n"Hopefully she is well enough to complete things in the fall, but it really depends," Largaespada said. \nAfter commencement in May, Fryman was supposed to go to the Peace Corps, which she was a part of last summer.\nFryman's family is seeing signs of progress, with her fractures are beginning to heal.\n"I would just like to give a big thank you from the family for all the support we and Melinda have received," Largaespada said. "It's good to know that there are so many people that care for Melinda. She appreciates everything"