Phyllis Eccleston: Choosing a more healthy life after recovering from an accident

		One hundred pounds lighter and a regular blood donor, Eccleston says she focuses today on doing things she couldn't do before her automobile accident almost four years ago.

Phyllis Eccleston says an automobile accident three and a half years ago changed her life forever.

On the afternoon of Sept. 27, 2001, Eccleston, academic program coordinator in the Depart-ment of Applied Gerontology's Center for Studies in Aging, was crossing Denton's Mulberry Street and Carroll Drive intersection in her Ford Escort when the driver of an SUV ran a red light and broadsided her car on the driver's side.

"I have no memory of the accident or its immediate aftermath. I was hospitalized for 11 days — four days in intensive care, three of them on a ventilator, and seven days in a regular room," she says.

She suffered major injuries including a punctured lung, pneumothorax — the collection of air in the space surrounding the lungs — extensive bruising and a ruptured spleen.

"I'd say that I didn't really feel 100 percent for six months or so," she says.

Eccleston, who received a master's degree in English at UNT, didn't need to attend a formal program of rehabilitation or physical therapy, but the trauma of the accident and recovery left her in a weak state.

That December, two of her friends suggested walking on a treadmill to help improve her diminished lung capacity. The first day, Eccleston only walked for five minutes. Now, she walks 4 to 6 miles a day, seven days a week. She's lost more than 100 pounds since beginning to exercise and to eat more wisely.

"At first I had to force myself to go every day because I knew that if I missed one day I wouldn't go the next, and then I would quit going altogether," she says. "Now I have to force myself not to go if I have a pulled muscle."

Eccleston says the accident has resulted in more than a change in her physical appearance.

"I think I've become more willing to try new things," she says. "Among those things have been lifting weights, horseback riding, snowmobiling and — most importantly — giving blood. I started donating blood about a year and a half ago and just reached the one gallon donor level in February."

Eccleston's colleagues say her story has served as an inspiration to those around her.

"Phyllis is a shining example of hope and possibility for the human spirit," says Kim Mathis, director of operations for the National Retirement Housing Professional Certification Program in the Department of Applied Gerontology, who has known her for eight years. "She took a near death experience and turned it into a new life experience.

BY MAGAN HENDON inhouse@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• UNT presses forward with plans to create Honors College
• UNT to celebrate University, Alumni Appreciation, Honors days in April
• Volunteers needed for third annual UNT Beautification Day on April 2
• Queer Eye for the Straight Guy episode featuring UNT airs this month
• Prescription plan shift puts all non-sedating antihistamines in most expensive tier
• Tips to help reduce allergy symptoms
• Driving while intoxicated exacts a high price
• Signs installed on campus as smoking policy reminders
• Spring brings Texas severe weather season
• Staff honored with awards presented at sack lunch

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