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Ian McClellan, a senior in biology, was the victim of a debilitating car crash in December 2007. Doctors believed that he would not make a full recovery.

Student returns for senior year after massive collision on Highway 99W

Doctors weren't sure McClellan would recover from five-car pileup in 2007

By: Makenna Bishop

Posted: 3/6/09

Last year, an OSU student found himself in a hospital bed for a month after totaling his car in an accident involving four other vehicles.

Doctors weren't convinced that he would ever make a full recovery.

Ian McClellan, a senior in biology, has aspired to become a pharmacist ever since adolescence. In late December of 2007, McClellan thought his dreams would have to be put on hold.

While driving on Highway 99W to work at a Rite Aid pharmacy, McClellan hit a patch of black ice and lost control near Adair Village. His car spun into oncoming traffic when another car also lost control. The two collided in a 90-mph collision.

Five cars were involved - four of which were totaled. McClellan, however, was the only one left injured. He was driven by ambulance to OHSU. LifeFlight was unable to fly due to weather conditions.

At OHSU, McClellan was diagnosed with a moderate diffuse axonal injury.

"It was like a really bad concussion that is caused by brain cells that get stretched or torn," McClellan said. "Doctors didn't know if I was going to be a vegetable or not, leaving my parents a mess."

Doctors told McClellan it would be unlikely for him to return to school in the near future, emphasizing that he might be ready only after reaching a certain point of therapy.

Kristin Catts, a junior in English and a friend of McClellan's, said she was extremely scared when she heard about McClellan's accident.

"I was really on edge waiting for a text or an update," Catts said. "I was craving more information because I wanted to know he was okay."

McClellan was in the hospital for a month, during which he experienced severe memory loss. He said he remembers his friends and family visiting him in the hospital, but can't remember any conversations.

Catts said it felt weird to visit him in the hospital, especially since he couldn't differentiate between dreams and reality. She also said McClellan described visits from celebrities and recent travels to foreign countries.

"There was a different mood to his talking," Catts said. "The inside jokes we all had with him were no longer there."

Along with the memory loss, McClellan was told to expect changes in his personality. He said he was fortunate the injury didn't affect anything more.

McClellan was required to participate in physical therapy where he had to relearn how to walk and regain a sense of balance. He also had occupational therapy, which tested his skills at handling everyday life situations.

"Walking to the side without falling over was a challenge," McClellan said. "Relearning these basic skills was really frustrating. There were certain things that I knew I knew but I couldn't remember any of it."

Despite what doctors said after the accident, McClellan was back at school as a part-time student in the spring. As of fall term of this year, he was enrolled again as a full-time student, putting him back on track to graduate in June.

He said his transition back to school was tough, as he was still being gradually reintroduced to his personality.

"I'd say I'm probably 98 percent back to my normal self. There are subtle things I notice about quirks I didn't remember I had, and each time it would change my perspective," McClellan said.

He said his memory still gives him problems with learning new things and school.

"I've noticed how much longer it takes me to learn something now, and I get really frustrated," McClellan said. "I had to relearn how to balance my time, taking into account how much more studying I would have to do."

Adam Bromley, a junior in construction engineering management, has been McClellan's roommate for the past two years and said he was surprised at how well McClellan handled the experience.

Bromley said that while McClellan would get stressed about school and grades, it was his faith in God that got him through.

"This experience reminded me that you can die at any minute and that life really is fragile," McClellan said. "It has given me a new perspective for my future and how I can better help the people who will need my expertise on different options of health-care and insurance."

McClellan was relieved he didn't need to take an extra year off school. While he had planned a much easier senior year, he said finishing on time made more sense. After he graduates, he hopes to attend pharmacy school, but is still waiting to hear back from the school to which he has applied.

McClellan still drives and said that was one thing he didn't forget how to do. His mom, he said, wasn't too sure and retrained him just to be certain.

"I wasn't scared to drive again. My mom was more scared than I was," McClellan said. "I was just ready to get going again."

He defied his doctors' expectations of retaining the majority of his memory, which he was told could take up to four years.

Catts said this experience matured him, and now he has a different outlook on life.

"I try to avoid I-99 these days. I pretty much just take I-5 now," McClellan said, "And my parents bought me snow tires, so I'm set."

Makenna Bishop, senior reporter

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231