Recuperating accident victim

back in school at Cedar Mountain

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

MORGAN -- No more hospital rooms and hospital food for Cedar Mountain junior Katie Fox.

After nearly two months in Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Fox recently returned home to Franklin and to classes at Cedar Mountain High School.

Wednesday afternoon, Cedar Mountain students took a forward step in dealing with the aftermath of an Aug. 17 car accident that sent Fox to HCMC with serious injuries, gravely injured Cedar Mountain junior Jacquie Distad, and took the life 16-year-old Corey Marlowe of Fairfax.

Students in Amee Wittbrodt's English class wrote a poem for Fox, presented her with a memory quilt and treated the school to cookies.

To acknowledge the quilt, which will be raffled off at a fund-raising event for the school's basketball program, Fox walked to the stage under her own power.

Although she feels good, she continues physical therapy and will not compete in athletics the rest of the school year.

Students crafted another memory quilt for Distad, a standout volleyball and basketball player who remains in a coma at Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul. That quilt will be delivered to her Nov. 5 by several van loads of her volleyball teammates.

Distad's pelvis was broken in five places. Both her collarbones and a rib were also broken. Doctors won't know the extent of her brain injuries, until or unless, she regains consciousness.

Distad has spoken words. She opens her eyes according to Fox who visited her frequently while she was at HCMC.

Distad's uniform number 9 is displayed at every Cedar Mountain volleyball game. It is being saved for her return.

Cedar Mountain Home Economics and Child Development teacher Nancy Gehrke said school staffers were asked for ideas to help raise money for medical expenses of the Distad and Fox families.

"Doing quilts immediately came to my mind," said Gehrke. "When Jacquie and Katie were freshmen, they said they wanted to learn how to quilt. They made several really neat quilts for church missions and Brown County Baby Quilt projects. They were such good kids. I was so touched that they would want to make quilts for charity."

A fund-raising dinner is planned for the Distad and Fox families on Dec. 3 in the Franklin school.

The quilt raffle takes place in March. Sponsored by the Tim Orth Foundation, the event will feature "Crunch" of the Minnesota Timberwolves and all-star boys and girls basketball games between the Tomahawk and Red Rock conferences.