Anthony Paul Wodzinski

My name is Natalie Camp and I lost my only son on June 10, 2006 due to an ATV accident. He was just 15 years old. I had sent my two children to their dad's for a couple of weeks during the summer for visitation. My precious son did not come home.

While at his dad's he went to visit a friend who owned 4-wheelers. The parents were gone and the 15 year old girl gave him the key and let him ride off alone, without a helmet. He rode over 5 miles alone down lonely country roads.

As he was riding alone, no one really knows what happened, but the best guess of the investigator was that he was riding down the side of the road and for some reason lost control of the 4-wheeler going over the edge of a 20 foot ravine. He actually rode the 4-wheeler all the way to the bottom safe and sound. But then he hit a cement pipe running under the road that was overgrown with weeds and was thrown from the 4-wheeler.

He lay there at the bottom of that ravine for almost an hour before being found. He was transported to the ER, and I made the two hour ride to get to him. I was told when I got there that he was in grave condition and had coded 3 times after they found him. It took them almost 30 minutes one time to get him back. He was then airlifted to the closest trauma unit and again, I raced to be with him, praying that he did not die in a helicopter full of strangers.

I made it and we had to wait forever to find out anything. Finally a doctor told us that he was in very grave condition as he had a neck fracture, his spinal column was destroyed in several places leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. And then, there was the head injury and facial fractures.

I walked with my baby up to PICU, holding his hand, telling him I was there and we would make him all better. He opened one eye and squeezed my hand. I had to wait for them to get him settled and was finally allowed to see him. He was hooked up to dozens of machines. He looked so peaceful, like he was sleeping. You could not tell he was injured at all, much less as severely as they were talking.

Anthony never opened his eyes again, never responded to us again. We were told that he had swelling on the brain, so they put in an ICP (inter cranial pressure) monitor. I watched those numbers for 3 days, I hardly slept, did not eat, just prayed, touched and talked to him. I was watching my son slowly pull away from us and enter the arms of Jesus.

On Saturday, his ICP was 135, normal is under 13. They did a test and he was pronounced brain dead. That day was the worst day of my life. I had to leave my precious son in that hospital and go home without him, after I told him that I would not leave him, that he would get better.

Since that time, I have lived my life in desperation, fear and confusion. There is no one that can help me, no one to bring him back.

Anthony had ridden ATVs since he was 4 years old, raced go-carts, 4-wheelers, bikes, everything. He was getting reckless on his, so I did the responsible thing and took it away. I just wish the mother of that little girl had been responsible too, by locking up the keys or even taking them with her. Anything. Now, she lives her life with no remorse and feels in no way responsible for my son's death. I feel like she is definitely responsible for his death as she was irresponsible with the machine that took his life.

Natalie M. Camp

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