Julie Williamson

Then they were going with mom Julie to visit relatives from Florida with a newborn at grandmother Junell Bearden's house in South Jackson.On U.S. 70, by the small community of Union at Exit 66, the Dodge Durango's front tire went off the road when Julie reached for a soda one of the boys had requested.As she corrected, the vehicle went onto two tires, rolled and slid across the highway.

"It went up a dirt embankment and back down.My head was out the window," said Julie, who was 35 at the time of the accident.
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As a registered nurse and X-ray technician for 11 years at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital and employee at the Eze Clinic in Jackson, Julie assessed the dire situation but stayed calm.

"My left arm didn't feel like it was mine.I saw my watch and thought my arm was cut off.I thought my legs were broken," she said.

From emergency treatment locally, Julie Williamson was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center (The Med) in Memphis.
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It's an L-shaped kind of deal," Julie explained in late October 2006 as she prepared to leave NHC in Milan for intensive therapy at Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Smyrna.

"All I want to do is be a wife and mother again," said Julie, who requires 24-hour care and hasn't been home for a visit since this past Christmas."My boys and my husband, they're my life."

Life without Julie is tough for her loved ones.
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Julie said the boys used to ask when she'd walk again.
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It was March 2006 when an occupational therapist accompanied Julie to a facility in the Dominican Republic.Donations from friends and family, what Bearden called "one sizable gift from a company located here in Jackson," and insurance money from the destroyed vehicle helped with expenses.Lesters Chapel United Methodist Church on Hart's Bridge Road in South Jackson has raised money for the family with sales of stew, grilled chicken, baked goods and handicrafts; a concert; and love offerings.

"It's the first church I've ever felt comfortable in," Julie said.
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Julie said Bearden, who has emphysema and keeps an oxygen tank nearby, is her "greatest cheerleader and quietest critic."
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After a second trip for stem cell treatment this fall, Julie left the Milan nursing and rehabilitation center for Smyrna, where she would receive six hours of therapy a day.

Two months later, Julie was transported to Bearden's home for the holidays and a health care agency provided around-the-clock care for her.With an apparatus that fits on her right wrist and hand, a special utensil and bowl, Julie was able to lift food to her mouth.She hoped to sit up soon on a mat and balance herself.

"They're more concerned with what you have now," Julie said of therapy sessions in Smyrna."Whatever's in there, they'll be able to pull out."

From the optimism of the holidays, Julie has had another surgical procedure and been relocated again.Her residence is The Palace Health Care and Rehab Center in Red Boiling Springs, a 10-hour round trip away from family.
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Julie said it was the first time she had been out there.Another trip was planned for Mother's Day.

"You never give up hope," she said.
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Tyler, who turned 11 in February, sits with his mom, Julie Williamson, on her wheelchair.