Injured Pa. Officer Fighting Way Back From Wreck

April 08--There is a Christmas tree waiting inside Mary Ann Schmeisser's home.

There will be pizza, wings and chocolate cake when Schmeisser turns 42 in 11 days. There will be a church auditorium filled with friends and colleagues, many of whom she hasn't seen in months, on May 12.

The special events that await Schmeisser are part of a journey filled with milestones since an accident on a dark, rainy late afternoon seriously injured the Erie police officer.

Schmeisser was providing backup for other officers who were responding to a 911 hang-up call when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle while crossing West 26th Street on Dec. 14.

She remains in a rehabilitation hospital near Pittsburgh, where she is learning to walk and talk, to regain her hand and arm movements, and to feed herself.

Schmeisser remembers people and events of her past, but she has no recollection of the accident or the time she spent at UPMC Hamot immediately after it, her fiancee, Dana Beck, said Friday.

Schmeisser's recovery from head and brain injuries is a long process. The extent of her recovery won't be known for up to two years, Beck said.

"But we're seeing tremendous progress," she said. "She's doing fantastic. There's definitely a long way to go, but she's a trouper. I always knew she was going to pull through this."

Schmeisser had parked her patrol car on the north side of the street in the 1100 block of West 26th Street at about 5:10 p.m. on Dec. 14 and was about halfway across the street heading south when she was hit by an Oldsmobile Bravada that was heading west. Police identified the driver as Cynthia Ruscitto, of Erie.

No charges were filed in the accident.

Schmeisser's condition was "touch and go" on the night of the accident, Beck said. She was rushed to UPMC Hamot, where she underwent surgery to relieve swelling on her brain.

Schmeisser was in critical condition in a medically induced coma for a time, and didn't show much movement for at least a month, Beck said.

"I would move her arms, her legs, do range-of-motion exercises with her. I could tell she was responding to me," she said.

Schmeisser opened her eyes five weeks after the accident. On Feb. 29, she said her first words.

"Her processing is a little slow," Beck said. "It takes some time to get a thought from her brain to her mouth."

Schmeisser is now a patient at HealthSouth Harmarville. Her days begin with breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by a half-hour of speech therapy, an hour and a half of physical therapy, and lunch. She takes part in occupational therapy three afternoons a week.

She is still using a wheelchair, but is slowly going through the process of learning how to walk again. She is "doing well" with eating on her own, and fights to feed herself, Beck said.

Schmeisser will remain in the hospital for a few more months until their house is remodeled to accommodate her return, Beck said. She said she is hoping Schmeisser will be better at tolerating groups of people, and better at getting into and out of a vehicle, by May 12, so she can attend a benefit that Erie police are holding for her at St. Paul's Auditorium in the city.

The Bureau of Police has been fantastic, Beck said. Officers were at the hospital round-the-clock during the first few weeks of her stay. They continue to send text messages, asking about her condition.

"We're all pulling for her, hoping for the best for her," Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin said.

Beck compares Schmeisser's fight to overcome her injuries to her journey in becoming a police officer. She waited years on the Erie police hiring list after graduating from the Mercyhurst College Municipal Police Training Academy in 2000 before she landed a job in July 2008.

"She definitely has a life ahead of her. At this rate, I believe she will have a full recovery because I believe in her and know how tenacious she is," Beck said.

TIM HAHN can be reached at 870-1731 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhahn.