Katherine's Hope 

On Thursday morning April 7, 2005, Katherine Gonzalez was on her way to work.  It was approximately 9:00am when she was traveling northbound on the Florida Turnpike Extension in the area of Bird Road in Miami Dade County.  Katherine was traveling in the right lane, traffic was conjested as it usually is every morning in this wonderful city of ours.  When all of a sudden for reasons unknown to anyone but Katherine, she lost control of her vehicle.  She overturned several times down an embankment and into a canal adjacent to the Florida Turnpike.  It is unknown how long Katherine was underwater exactly, but it is estimated a little over ten (10) minutes. 

 That is where I come in, My name is Jessica Jimenez and I am a state trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol in Miami.  I was dispatched to this crash on that very day.  I was there within minutes and was standing by desperately as Miami Dade Fire Rescue divers attempted to free this young lady from her vehicle.  They managed to do just that, they handed me her lifeless body and I, along with some other fire rescue personnel placed her on a stretcher and watched as fire rescue did everything possible to get this young lady to breathe again. 

She was transported to Kendall Regional Hospital, which I would say is not even a mile away from where Katherine's crash occurred.  That is where I met the family and had to give them the horrible news about their loved one.  I remember being in the emergency room with her mother, Beatriz, when the doctor walked in and said "You need to make a decision regarding your daughter, "she is in a coma and we don't know how long she is going to be in this state". 

Imagine, getting news like that, I spoke to the family and I tried to calm them as best as I could and well offered them my help if needed by supplying them with my cell phone number, which was available to them day or night. 

That was April 7, 2005 at approximately 12:30pm.  That was the last I heard about Katherine and her family.

Katherine's Hope

WHAT I DID....

There was never a moment when I didn't think of Katherine and her family.  I wondered if she lived, I wondered if she died.  I couldn't get her out of my mind.  So I picked up the phone and I called her mother, Beatriz in July of 2007.  Yes two (2) years had gone by and I wondered all that time.  I spoke to Beatriz and she told me Katherine was alive, but in a coma. 

She asked me to come by and see Katherine, so I did.  Although I was happy to see Katherine, I had hoped to see her under different circumstances.  I spoke to Beatriz, who informed me of everything she had been going through the last two (2) years. 

She told me about the Ocean Neurology Center.  Its a Hyperbaric Oxygen facility.  Yes, I know, what is that?  Well its an Oxygen treatment facility that gives people like Katherine a chance to wake up from their coma.  Visit them at www.oceanhbo.com for information and testimonials on patients that have actually done this treatment and have lead normal lives after their traumatic injuries.   

From all the research I have done it seems to be HOPE.  The hope that Katherine and her family need.  It is not covered by the insurance because right now this is considered experimental. 

So I did what my heart told me to do. I told Katherine's family that I wanted to help them any way I could to get Katherine the treatment she needs. 

That is where Katherine's Hope comes in.  I wanted to do something great, not only for Katherine, but for people like Katherine.  People that are not aware that there is HOPE. 

So my journey begins, it starts with Katherine she is my inspiration and a goal I must fullfill.  

I am in search for the KEY, the GOLDEN KEY to LIFE!