By Henry Piarrot
“Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” – John Lennon
I began writing stories about ordinary people that I believe are doing extraordinary things many years ago when I became weary of watching the bad guys and losers get almost all of the ink in every newspaper I picked up during my life. More than 700 columns later, I still have little trouble finding the inspirational people for which I began this endeavor. However, on occasion, I am allowed the extreme privilege to meet someone who qualifies as a hero to my heroes.
Aimee Orion Kiefer was born on April 13, 1995 in New Orleans, LA. She is the youngest of her accomplished parents 6 children. Her father George, a retired Judge and her mother Elaine, a retired nurse moved to Sevier County when Aimee was only 5 years old.
A member of Pigeon Forge High School’s Class of 2013, Aimee is mid way through her third year as a member of the schools’ Show Choir, singing and dancing for spring performances on campus and annually at Patriot Park.
Planning to become a surgeon, the youngest Kiefer made that decision because she believes that medicine helps people like a young boy she became aware of whose face was shredded by a pit-bull a few years ago. Unfortunately, just about to begin the second half of her junior year, Aimee’s belief in medicine was reinforced as she lie crushed within her vehicle after sliding off a rain slick road barely a month ago. For a time it did not look like Aimee would survive the experience.
On the rainy morning of Tuesday December 27, 2011 at approximately 9:30am, Aimee was on her way to her job as a tour guide at TOMB, a new Pigeon Forge attraction that opened earlier in the year. Less than a mile and a half from home, Aimee lost control of her 1995 Land Rover on Robeson Road in Wears Valley and smashed into an unforgiving tree.
Her body badly broken, young Aimee was unconscious for most of the two hours it took the emergency crew to free her from her mangled vehicle. The weather did not allow her to be safely taken by air, so she was driven by ambulance to UT Medical Center, where doctors and nurses alike fought for hours to save her.
In addition to her legs being crushed, Aimee cracked her pelvis, broke an arm and collapsed a lung. Once her life was saved, the exceptional teenager awoke to find her right leg had been removed at the knee and the remainder of it, as well as her entire left leg were reinforced with titanium rods.
While friends and family lined up to console the girl after surviving such a life altering experience, they each found that Aimee was consoling them. Mature beyond her years, George and Elaine’s youngest daughter embraced her survival as a second chance and vowed to never again take one day for granted.
Expected to be in the hospital for months, Aimee was released to go home to her parents after only 17 days. She has vowed that nothing that happened that terrible Tuesday will change any of her plans for the future. As a matter of fact, she is determined to turn this awful experience into motivation to work even harder to be a better person than she was before.
Aimee Keifer’s attitude has inspired everyone she has touched since her accident. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she has worked hard to assure her friends and loved ones there is no reason to be sorry for her. Her plans to attend either UT or The University of Chicago’s Medical Schools are still in in place and the future is brighter than ever.
“I am here again, in a familiar place feeling something I’ve felt before, wondering why it’s still here, why I didn’t deal with it more fully before. But I’m glad I have a second chance at it … and I know that if I need a third chance, I’ll get it. I also know that if it comes up again, I’ll recognize it sooner and deal with it more readily. This is growth. And, I am happy to be alive.” – Author and speaker Jan Denise
Henry Piarrot is a Sevier County resident and hotel manager on assignment in Nashville. Please send all story recommendation to hpiarrot@yahoo.com
