2005 edition of the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram Sunday, Dec. 18. 2005

(Note: this article appeared next to a feature story on Jessi McIlquham, but did not appear on the LT web page. Chris Vetter emailed the text to me. - Tom Arneberg)

Updates on the other people who were hospitalized after the Oct. 16 bus crash:

Ruth Weiland, UW-Eau Claire student

"I'm back to school, but I had to drop two classes," Weiland said. "I can drive by myself again. And I'm back in the dorms."

After the crash, Weiland was at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., for three days. She was home with her family for six weeks while recovering.

Weiland said her liver has healed, but she still is dealing with short-term memory loss after a concussion she suffered in the crash.

Cassie Gast, 11, Chippewa Falls middle school student

"She's starting to walk with a walker around the house," said Kelly Gast, Cassie's mom. "She's still at home. We're hoping after the Christmas holiday (she'll go back to school). Maybe in a wheelchair."

Gast sees a physical therapist three times a week, and a teacher stops at her house two or three times a week to bring assignments.

"She's gone to her school, for orchestra, and to have lunch with the kids," Kelly Gast said.

After the crash, Gast was taken to Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul. The injuries are slowly healing, she said.

"She had two breaks in her legs, and she had plates in those, and she was in traction," Kelly Gast said. "She was lying flat for six weeks."

The plates will likely be in her legs for the rest of her life, Kelly Gast said.

Brian Collicott, Chi Hi music teacher

Collicott initially hoped to return to teaching in January, but he's pushed that goal back to mid-February. He is still getting around in a wheelchair.

"They are going to let me work my way in," Collicott said. "Eventually, I'd like to be back pretty much full time. I don't want to rush back. I have to be ok."

Collicott was taken to Mayo Hospital in Rochester, Minn. He still wears a brace around his body and neck, and he expects he will wear that for another month. He can't put any weight on his left leg for another five weeks.

"The brace needs to come off before I go back," Collicott said. "I can only wear it for about three hours before I have to go lay down."

Collicott said the worst part is sitting around and waiting to be better.

"Isolation is a big thing for me, even though people have been over," Collicott said. "Depression is sinking in. It is a little bit frustrating. I 'm tired of not being able to do anything."

Jessie Rozga, 21, UW Eau Claire student

Rozga was hospitalized for about a month at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. Since she was released, she has been living with her parents in Milwaukee.

"The goal is to be back at school next semester," Rozga said. "Right now, it 's still up in the air."

Rozga said she sees a physical therapist three times a week.

"We are rebuilding the muscles in my legs, and trying to work on that," she said.

In the crash, Rozga suffered a broken pelvis, six broken ribs on her right side, a broken nose and a broken shoulder, along with some fractured vertebrae. Rozga said she has been told she won't be allowed to walk until the end of January.

The hardest part is that she needs help from others to get around.

"It's just not being as independent as I was before," Rozga said.

Amy Bowen

Amy Bowen, a UW-Eau Claire student, could not be reached for comment. She had a broken right femur and ankle and cuts on her head.

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Contact Chris Vetter at chris.vetter@ecpc.com.