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Black ice is the term the weather reporters used to describe the thin layer of invisible ice that covered the roads in Virginia’s northern Piedmont the morning of Jan. 4.
For most of the drivers involved in the 100-plus accidents which occured that day in the Fauquier-Culpeper-Rappahannock
area, the reprocussions ranged from tow-truck bills to insurance claims. But for 19-year old Shana ‘ Nicholson, black ice brought down l a black curtain. ‘ Ms. Nicholson, an honors grad' uate from Culpeper County High School, was to begin paralegal * school this past month. Instead, * she’s fighting for consciousness and life in the intensive care unit of the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville.
At 7:40 a.m. on Jan. 4, Ms. Nicholson was on her way to Marefield Farm in Warrenton, where she had a job training and exercising horses and assisting with breeding and foaling. On a bridge on U.S. 229 near the Culpeper County line, her car slid on the invisible ice slick; she lost control and slammed into a State Police cruiser traveling towards Culpeper in the opposite lane. Ms. Nicholson broke both hips, fractured several vertebra, and punctured her liver, kidneys and both lungs. In addition, the trauma to her head was so severe that she remains in a coma.
Shana’s mother, Sharon Nicholson, has spent every day since Jan. 4 at the hospital. “All the progress Shana is making is because her mother is there,” said Jane Mullan, president of Project Rainbow of Rappahannock-Rapidan. “Sharon bathes her, massages her, talks to her. She’s the life force that has kept Shana going, and now Shana is starting to respond.”
To ensure that Sharon Nicholson can remain at her daughter’s bedside for as long as necessary, Project Rainbow is sponsoring a dinner, auction and dance at the Washington fire hall on March 10 to benefit the Nicholson family. “We intend to help with expenses * so her mother can be there with Shana until she’s ready to resume her life,” said Ms. Mullan, who shares Ms. Nicholson’s conviction that Shana can recover.
As a Project Rainbow volunteer, Ms. Mullan goes regularly to UVa to help with Shana’s care. “She’s still in a coma, but I’ve seen a definite change. She is beginning to respond to stimulus, and I believe it’s because she’s had the lov
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