Recovery and achievement

Life is precious and Caitlyn Dee, 11, knows that all two well.

Named youth of the year Feb. 16 for Farmington's Boys & Girls Club, she survived an accident and the resulting injuries.

She was four years old when she was run over by a car, which fractured her leg and caused short-term hearing loss in her right ear, as well as kidney and bladder problems.

After a painful recovery she can still remember the lady that hit her and says she prays that some day God will help her forgive the woman.

"I can't remember the lady but Caitlyn says she remembers her and she would point her out when we're in town shopping," said Carmen Dee, Caitlyn's mother.

It's a day that Caitlyn remembers well.

"My mom and I went to a gas station in Shiprock," Caitlyn recalled. "I wanted something to eat and I asked my mom. We were talking together when I ran in front of her and that's when I got hit."

A lady driving a car was blinded by the sunlight and thought she hit a speed bump. This was at a gas station near the Shiprock Police District and down the road from the Northern Navajo Medical Center.

"It's funny with the Shiprock police department just next door, they were really slow with their response time," Carmen said. "I just picked her up and rushed her to the emergency room myself."

When a cast was put on her leg for the fracture, Caitlyn's leg wasn't positioned correctly and caused her foot to heal pointed inward. This caused her trip every time she tried to run.

"It was when she broke her arm when she tripped that I knew something was wrong," Carmen said.

Caitlyn was then taken to a specialist in Albuquerque who reset her leg with pins.

The hearing loss was a result of Caitlyn hitting her head on the pavement as she fell backwards after being hit by the vehicle.

"The doctors said that my ponytail saved me from suffering worse," Caitlyn said.

"I couldn't hear out of my right ear," she said. "I used to sit in the back when I was in school and I had a hard time hearing. I didn't do so good until the teachers and my mom talked about the problem."

She now sits in front where she can hear better.

"Sometimes I would get ear infections," she added.

She also has pain from standing or walking for long periods of time and tends to have headaches.

She credits her mother for helping her recover with love, encouragement and patience.

At times Caitlyn said she was furious at having to endure treatment as well as taking medication for the pain and to ensure proper bladder and kidney functions.

"My mom was always there for me," she said. "She helped me recover and always been there with me. She helped me a lot."

She's interested in basketball but fears getting hurt. But she doesn't want to give up without trying.

Caitlyn's outlook on life is to do the best she can and help others be the best that they can, a lesson that came with being a member of the Farmington Boys & Girls Club since she was six years old.

Each weekday after school, she is at the club working on her homework then helping the staff tutor students.

"Finding a babysitter got hard and my mom heard about the club through some friends and others," Caitlyn said. "That's when we signed up."

Caitlyn attends the club with her younger sister Haley Dee, 6. The two girls reside in Farmington with Carmen, q single parent working for the county.

They both attend Northeast Elementary School where Caitlyn is in the fifth grade and Haley is in the first grade.

Their clans are Hashk'aa hadzohí (Yucca Fruit Strung out in a Line Clan) and their maternal grandfather is Tl'izí lání (Many Goats Clan).

Haley has asthma and undergoes weekly treatment.

Her grandmother Jesse Dee lives in Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., where Caitlyn has three horses -Dashing, Sonita and Breyer. Her grandfather is the late Peter Dee, who passed away before Caitlyn was born.

"I want to live my grandpa's dream, which is to have a farm with crops and livestock," Caitlyn said. "He passed away before I was born but my mom talks about him a lot."

Carmen is sharing the lessons her father taught her with Caitlyn and Haley.

"My dad used to say that you're going to have to do things for yourself because there's no one there to do it for you," Carmen recalled. "That's the way I was raised - you have to do everything yourself because no one is going to do it for you."

That message is loud and clear for Caitlyn. She was selected as the youth of the year by a five-judge panel that interviewed her and reviewed her application and essay.

"One of the judges, she kept smiling at me the whole time," Caitlyn recalled. "I think she liked my essay and application. It's very exciting. I'm really glad I won it. I get to compete with others from different Boys & Girls Clubs from the state."

The annual youth of the year competition for the state of New Mexico is March 11 and 12 in Roswell.

In the meantime she is preparing her essay and speech while she continues her schoolwork, tutoring and looking after her sister. Her future plans include becoming a barrel racer.

Back to top ^