When Darcy Keith heard the news that Indiana’s governor was signing the bill (now law) for the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund, she contacted Indiana State Representative Carolene Marys, who sponsored the bill, to see if she could attend the ceremony since she had provided testimony.

Her wish was more than granted.

Keith was involved in an accident at the age of 22 as a student at Ball State University. She was on her way home from Morehead State University in Kentucky with four of her sorority sisters when their car was hit from behind by a semi-tractor-trailer. The car was crushed completely by an impact so severe that the license plate of the semi-tractor was imprinted into the car’s crumpled side panel. Only the two young women in the front seat were wearing their seatbelts and literally walked away from the accident unharmed.

Darcy was in the back seat with two of her friends, who were killed instantly. The impact of the collision with the semi forced one sister upside down against the roof of the car and broke her neck. The last thing Keith said she remembered was stopping to eat at a restaurant and changing spots in the car with one of the girls in the back seat to sit directly behind the driver. It was that seat change that would save her life.

“I never thought that a single incident would force a 22-year-old college senior to start over as a small child in every aspect imaginable,” Keith states on her Web site. “The mental, physical, and emotional injuries were indescribable. But, when I was down in the quicksand of pain, anguish, and despair, I decided that I was going to climb to solid ground through fortitude, perseverance and determination.”

She has also added motivational speaking to her resume, lobbying Statehouse officials for tougher seat-belt laws and visiting high school classrooms to promote brain injury prevention.

Bill signing ceremonies are only held for special bills, as ceremonies for each individual bill passed would be illogical.

“How a ‘bill signing ceremony’ takes place is that we are all escorted into the Governor's office,” Keith said. “He greets each one of us and then takes a seat at a rectangular desk/table. There are two chairs on either side of him - usually for the Senator and/or Representative who sponsors the bill.

Seated at the desk, the governor uses two pens to sign the ceremonial bill. One pen was given to the State Representative who sponsored the bill. The other was given to the head of Indiana's ABATE program. I was standing directly behind the seated governor.”

Then, something happened which totally took Darcy off-guard.

“The governor stands up, turns around and hands me the ceremonial bill that he just signed into law and said, ‘this is for you,’” she said. “I immediately teared up. How special it was, and a moment that I will never forget.”

The Indiana Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund Bill is a huge step forward in assisting thousands of Hoosiers who have suffered from spinal cord and brain injuries. The biennial state budget approved by the Indiana General Assembly earlier this year (House Enrolled Act 1001) provides a mechanism for the state to begin funding spinal cord and brain injury research projects that can lead to cures and improvements for those who have suffered from these traumatic injuries. The bill becomes state law on July 1.

The legislation creates a nine-member spinal cord and brain injury research board under the Indiana Department of Health that will receive, review and approve applications for research projects related to treatments and cures, including acute management, medical complications, rehabilitation and recovery. The board will include a person or family member of a person who has a spinal cord or head injury, a physician specializing in neurosurgery, a psychiatrist and representatives from Indiana and Purdue Universities, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association and the American Brain Injury Association. Funding for the research comes primarily from an increase in motorcycle registration fees, which went from $17 to $27. This change is expected to raise about $2.5 million each year.

Elizabeth Gist can be contacted at elizabeth.gist@rushvillerepublican.com or at (765) 932-3111 ext. 109. Add a comment to this story at www.rushvillerepublican.com.