Deadly Deer: Survivor’s story

Jalyn Perkins should be studying or working at one of her two jobs. Instead, she is staying at her parents’ house, recovering.

But she isn’t complaining because she feels lucky to be alive.

“Seeing the car, I just thought: ‘how am I alive?’ Because the deer was on top of me… it’s so hard,” Perkins said, through tears.

She was heading to her friend’s house in early November when an oncoming car hit a deer, launching the animal through her windshield and right on top of her.

The animal’s impact knocked her unconscious but her car was on cruise control, so it kept driving for a half mile until it went off the road and crashed into a barbed wire fence.

“I just feel so lucky because the people who hit the deer were hunters and they knew to go look for it,” she said. “When they were looking, they found me.”

The scene was horrific: the deer was still on top of her and Jalyn was severely injured.

Her mom can’t forget that call.

“A state trooper called and said my daughter was in an accident and life-flighted to the hospital,” Linda Perkins remembers. “She didn’t have many details, but I knew it would be bad.”

It was bad. So bad that Linda said the state troopers told her they initially thought the crash was a fatality.

The deer scalped Jalyn. She also suffered a brain bleed, an orbital blowout, a concussion, and is still pulling glass out of her face. And she can no longer see out of her right eye.

But about a half hour later when Jalyn’s parents got to her hospital room, they were shocked to find her awake and talking.

“Everyone in the hospital was calling her ‘miracle girl,'” Linda said. “The state trooper told her she should go get lottery tickets because she was the luckiest girl he had ever seen.”

Jalyn only spent two and a half days in the hospital before she was able to go home.

She’s got a long recovery ahead of her, as she is still dealing with concentration problems, sight problems, headaches, and emotional trauma. But she is hopeful she’ll be able to see again and get back to work soon.

“When I have some eyesight, I’m going back to work,” Jalyn said.

Her mom is cautious, wanting to make she is fully recovered before taking the next steps.

“I’m just so grateful I have my daughter,” Linda said. “She calls them (the people who found her) her angels, and I believe they are.”

The accident couldn’t have been avoided, but reminded them of just how dangerous deer are. And it taught the mother and daughter to cherish every moment.

To help Jalyn’s recovery while she is off work, visit https://www.gofundme.com/4nv6ec8