Autumn’s Story: An Inspiration

Editor’s Note: In 2017, Autumn attended the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, and her world turned upside down. One of the many victims of the tragedy, Autumn was seriously injured and found herself facing a long recovery.

“I woke up and was wired shut,” she said. “I had a tracheostomy because the blocked airway. I had a huge scar down my stomach where they had done the exploratory surgery.”.

But, despite her injuries, Autumn didn’t give up hope. That first day, she got up and walked. And, after 48 days, Autumn left the hospital.

What follows is the transcript from a video compiled by The CDA’s member company, American Fidelity, of Autumn describing her experience with an unexpected disability. Scroll down for the video.

Will I See My Babies Again?

I was on the ground, you know? I remember what the concrete felt like below me. I have that very vivid memory of like I’m going to die and I’m not going to see my babies again. And that was what was going through my head.

We’re Not Dying Today

I was hit very quickly during the shooting:

- - - - I was shot in shot in the face.
        
        I was shot again in the back.

We got up, continued moving and we almost made it to first aid. And I was shot a third time in the hand. And the whole time my husband kept repeating over and over again, like we’re not going to die today.

Autumn’s husband: We’re not dying today. This isn’t going to happen. And I kept trying to tell her, I was like this isn’t happening. We’re not dying today. This isn’t going to happen.

I’ll Be Fine

I remember when we turned down the street and the lights were red and blue bouncing off of the buildings. And I remember thinking I’ll be fine. And we’re driving on the sidewalk on Vegas Boulevard, up and down just trying to get through the traffic. And like there was always this like no I will be fine. Like this is, I’m going to be fine.

I Woke Up 5 Days Later in the Hospital

Autumn’s husband: We got there within, I don’t know, in a minute maybe. Got out, got my wife out, helped the others down. And by the time I turned around, my wife was gone

And I woke up five days later in the hospital.

Autumn’s husband: Everybody that had ID, we’ve reconnected with their family. Now we need to reconnect those of you who do not have their IDs on them. And they took me up to ICU, cardio ICU and from me to about a good 50 feet away, I could see straight away it was my wife and that’s where I found her. And relief, but still fear not knowing exactly what I was

getting into because the last I’d seen her, she was in a wheelchair being wheeled away from me.

I woke up and I was wired shut. I had a tracheostomy because the blocked airway. I had, um, a huge scar down my stomach where they had done the exploratory surgery.

Autumn’s husband: And they said do you have any questions? I said, I just have one. So you are telling me this is going to be okay. You are telling me this is going to be okay. And that in two to three years, we’re going to be fine. May not be back to where we were, but you’re telling me I’m going to be able to sit on a couch with my wife and watch movies with my kids. And they said, absolutely.

I Want to Go Home

I have a therapist from Las Vegas who walks in. I am hooked up to every tube you can imagine. I have not gotten out of bed in six days now. And she just looks at me and says like: “Well, what do you want to do?” So I wrote on my board I want to go home. And she said, you have to get out of bed. And so I said, okay.

And, so, that was sort of what began this process of that first day, I walked three times the first day and then haven’t said no to a therapist since.

I Have Very Good Disability Insurance

I didn’t have the added stress of: “I have to get back to work.” So, for me, my daily struggles with everything that I was struggling with, I didn’t compound with this idea of: “Well, I have to get back to work because I have to bring in an income.” I have very good disability insurance. I’m able to focus every day on my own recovery.

Autumn’s husband: It’s saved us. There’s no doubt that, without it, we’d be in a boatload of trouble.

There was this immediate response of like caring and it wasn’t even necessarily about: “Oh,

you don’t have all the paperwork filled out correctly.” It was about: “Okay, well what else do you need? What else can we do? And do you have all this? And did you know you also have this? Make sure we file everything for her being in the hospital because there’s a benefit for that.”

Disability Insurance is Worth It

It’s worth it. The peace of mind, one less Starbucks is, is perfectly fine. Whatever it may be. I get it. It may be a pinch, but it’s, it’s worth it.

My children didn’t have to stop dance class. My son didn’t have to stop, you know, baseball. There were all these little things in life that we go about doing our everyday lives, that didn’t have to stop that if I didn’t have an income coming in, those would have been the first things to go.

To be able to kind of continue the quality of life that they were used to without any of that having to change was, I mean, for me that’s what’s been most worth it.

But the peace of mind of knowing that in a moment your life can be turned upside down. It can flip you sideways. You have no clue.

And then to know, when I called that, oh my God, I do have this and I don’t have to worry because for right now, my finances will be taken care of.

Autumn’s husband: Yeah, you don’t expect a company wanting to give more out of their pocket to someone but with the carrier they were very much of like: “Nope, here’s everything we can get for you and we want to give you everything that we can.