5/17/2008

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

Happiness will rule today as 200 friends and family watch Leslie Eckhart and Craig Tingen proclaim their love and commitment in marriage.

Smiles and laughter, "Oohs" and "Ahs" and tears of hope and joy can be expected at Salina's First United Methodist Church and later at the reception.

Those emotions may run deeper for some at the ceremony, among them Leslie's parents, Kathy and John Eckhart, Lincoln, her brother Craig Eckhart of Salina and others who watched a near-fatal disaster unfold nearly nine years ago.

Had Leslie's injuries in a May 30, 1999, jet ski collision with a boat on Wilson Lake worsened ever so slightly, had a nurse and a medic not been nearby to provide immediate care, the Eckharts might be visiting a cemetery to mourn a loss.

"This wedding is a celebration of life," Kathy Eckhart said. "To me, the whole thing is a miracle."

Today marks both the fulfillment of a relationship for Leslie and Craig Tingen, both 23 of Maize, and the closure of Leslie's childhood marred by a near-death experience.

The horrors of the crash and the tenuous weeks that followed weren't felt by Leslie, who clung to life in a drug-induced coma at Wichita's Wesley Medical Center.

"I kind of wish I would have known her before and experienced (the aftermath)," Tingen said. "I've heard stories over time."

Leslie doesn't regret that the crash occurred.

"It's made me who I am," she said. "It's made me realize that any moment could be your last and you won't be here tomorrow."

Leslie and Craig met four years ago while working summer jobs in the School Specialty Supply warehouse in Salina.

"I knew there was a reason, a divine coincidence, to find your son is dating a girl who is such a miracle," Jan Tingen said.

When the Eckhart parents met Jan and Dennis Tingen -- the beginning of a close friendship -- the Tingens heard the first accounts of the jet ski crash.

"As they told us the story, it just brought tears to my eyes," Jan Tingen said.

The dreadful collision that nearly killed Leslie and severely injured two of her friends -- Mandi Rathbun and Morgan Cheney -- who were passengers on the Eckharts' jet ski, has been "the reference point" of the Leslie's life, Kathy Eckhart said.

Searching for an angel

The Eckharts spent weeks searching for the man who was among those who helped keep Leslie alive. They wanted him to be part of this special day.

U.S. Army medic Johnny Franks and Lisa Schroeder, a registered nurse from Great Bend, performed emergency medical care at the lake while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

"Without them our daughter wouldn't be here," Kathy Eckhart said

The Eckharts have lost touch with Schroeder, who was on the scene with her husband, Steve, but are equally appreciative of their heroism, Kathy said.

At a ceremony months later to honor their deeds, Lisa said in a Journal story that she didn't consider herself a hero.

"It's what I do. You don't think about what you're doing at the time, you just do it," she said.

After several dead ends searching for Franks, who left active duty in 2001, the Eckharts got a tip from wedding DJ Michelle Hadley, Salina. They found him in Kosovo where Franks is a civilian security guard at a military base. He retired last year as a flight medic with the National Guard.

Franks called the Eckharts Tuesday from Kosovo.

"I was shocked beyond words. I cried," Kathy Eckhart said. "He vividly remembered all the girls and wanted to know how they were doing."

In a phone interview with the Journal, Franks said he won't be coming home from Kosovo until October or November. He promised to visit the family when he returns to Kansas.

"I would really like to be there. (Kathy) worked so hard to find me and be able to invite me. There's just no way I can do it," Franks said.

Franks delighted in hearing that Leslie has recovered and completed a college degree. She works as a medical technologist at Via Christi Regional Medical Center, St. Francis campus, Wichita.

Occasionally, she will counsel families with loved ones suffering from serious brain injuries.

"I like speaking, telling people about it, just trying to provide support for them, that you can get better and move on with your life," she said.

At the hospital where she works, Leslie sometimes is involved in trauma cases, delivering units of blood for transfusions.

"I like to take (blood) down there, so I can see what's going on. I can see them in surgery," Leslie said. "It's very surreal to me. It makes me wonder 'Is this what happened to me?' "

Last ride of the day

Leslie and her friends had been camping at Wilson Lake. Kathy chaperoned the first night and John Eckhart took over the duty on May 30.

The crash occurred while the girls were taking their last ride before retiring to their campsite.

Kathy was on her way to the lake to give her husband a break and noticed a long line at the park entrance.

"When I got to the gate, they said there had been a bad accident. I just kind of left my body for a moment," Kathy said.

She drove to the campsite and found it abandoned. One of their son's friends arrived on a jet ski and gave Kathy the grave news.

Franks was in a cove enjoying the weekend with family when he heard the screams from the lake.

Franks went to investigate. By then, the girls had been pulled from the water. Leslie was laying on a boat and was being assessed by Schroeder. Franks lent a hand.

The right side of Leslie's face and head had struck the boat, breaking her jaw and cheek bone. Her tailbone was broken and her shoulder and arm were injured, Kathy Eckhart said.

Leslie was breathing and had a pulse, but she was unresponsive, Franks said. They worked to move her tongue to improve breathing and inserted an intravenous tube.

After looking at her eyes -- one pupil was large and the other was normal size, evidence of a severe brain injury -- Franks became concerned.

"I didn't feel she would make it. I'm glad I was proven wrong," he said,

Pressure on the brain

The three girls were taken by ambulance to the hospital in Russell and the flown to Wesley Medical Center, Wichita.

The pressure on her brain was so high that she was placed in a coma and put in a glass-enclosed room with an around-the-clock nurse.

"It had a bed, tons of machines and chair," Kathy recalled. The first night was really tough. We almost lost her several times."

Leslie was in a coma for a month and was moved back to a regular intensive care unit bed.

"At that time, you could see a finger move or maybe a foot. You couldn't converse," Kathy said.

A week later and Leslie was moved to a private room. Regaining consciousness was "painstakingly slow," Kathy said.

"It's not like in the movies where you open your eyes and you're awake one day," Leslie said.

Well into the second month, the family still had no idea whether Leslie would recover.

The Eckharts found strength from the Lincoln community and felt "the power of prayer," Kathy said.

Many families in Lincoln County suffered from the jet ski crash, she said.

"You couldn't find a more supportive group of people."

Everyone remained hopeful, Kathy said, despite some blunt remarks at the Wichita hospital.

"A nurse told me a week into the coma, that modern medicine keeps a lot of people alive who shouldn't be alive," Kathy said.

Mother and daughter made it a point to visit that nurse when Leslie recovered.

"Leslie said, 'I just came to tell you that I walk and talk.' (The nurse) looked at me and apologized," Kathy Eckhart said.

Her first memory

Leslie's first memory was leaving Wesley Medical Center in an ambulance and being taken to a rehabilitation center. Settling into the rehab center "was probably one of the hardest days of the whole thing," Kathy said.

To what level would Leslie recover, she thought.

It was also during that time that Mandi and Morgan were released to continue their recovery at home.

"That was one of the hard parts. It was such a celebration when the girls got to go home," Kathy Eckhart said.

But it was at the rehabilitation center where Leslie's competitive spirit surfaced.

"They said it was one of the quicker recoveries they'd seen," Kathy said.

To Leslie, there were no limitations.

"People always told me, 'You can't do that.' I would do it just to prove them wrong," she said. "I'm very bullheaded."

Took years to recover

Leslie went home to Lincoln Aug. 1, 1999, but it took years to totally recover. Early frustrations included struggles to brush her hair, Kathy said, which is important to a 14-year-old.

To this day, she doesn't recall much of her life before age 14.

"I think there might be a few things I remember. Most of memories I created from pictures, things people told me and what I imagine might have been," Leslie said.

She's OK with not recalling the crash.

"I don't want to relive that," Leslie said.

She graduated Lincoln High School in 2003, attended Fort Hays State University for two years and transferred to Wichita State University where she completed her medical technology degree.

At times, the crash resurfaces.

"A couple of months ago, Leslie asked why I never taught her to write in cursive," Kathy said. "I was just blown away."

Of course Leslie had known how to write in cursive, but the crash took that away from her. So, she taught herself to write cursive, Kathy said.

"She wanted to make sure she could sign the marriage license," she said.

Kathy offered another example.

When Leslie was 20, she went home to help with the wheat harvest. As was the custom, Kathy fixed a meal to take to the men in the fields, and Leslie helped her mother. After they'd delivered the meal, Leslie asked Kathy if they'd ever done anything like that before.

She is a whiz at biochemistry, but it might be difficult to recite nursery rhymes Kathy said.

Never gets frustrated

But Leslie never gets frustrated, Kathy said.

"She never said 'Why me?' She felt as though she was chosen because she was strong enough to handle it. There was a reason, I think," Kathy Eckhart said.

Franks said it gave him a lift to speak with Kathy.

"I hope (Leslie) has a good long life and never has to go through anything like that again," Franks said.

Today marks a grand new beginning for Leslie and Craig Tingen, and John Eckhart couldn't be happier.

"We weren't sure she would pull through. We're proud of the beautiful lady she's turned into," he said. "We're really proud of what she's been able to accomplish."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.