Spring break injuries leave two students hospitalized

By Kimberly Miller

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Two UA students were seriously injured in Mexico last week in separate spring break accidents, leaving one a paraplegic.

Ann Fowler, a 19-year-old political science freshmen, was air evacuated out of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Tuesday after falling off a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle.

She is in intensive care at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix.

Her mother, Karla Fowler, said Ann suffered from two crushed vertebras that will leave her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

"There isn't anything they can operate on to fix this," Karla said. "She's paralyzed from the diaphragm down, but has use of her arms and upper body and she can see, talk, and hear. We're just thankful for that."

Karla said Ann, a member of Chi Omega sorority, is in fairly good spirits and is looking forward to leaving the hospital.

"She's holding her own," Fowler said. "She has her good days and bad, obviously, but she just says, 'Let's do what we have to do to get me out of here.'"

Ann was riding on the back of the vehicle and flew off when it hit a bump. Karla said she hit the sand hard and couldn't feel her legs afterward. Karla said Ann will probably return to school in the fall.

Another student, Mark McArthur, a 19-year-old music major, is in slightly improved condition after a moped accident in Cozumel, Mexico, March 15.

McArthur, a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, suffered four broken vertebras after he lost control of the moped he was driving. He is in intensive care at Tampa General in Tampa, Fla.

McArthur's mother, Marsha, said he was on a Carnival Cruise at the time of the accident with several friends from the University of South Florida. She said Mark is in good condition and will be in a body brace for four to six months. She said he will return to school in the fall.

"We are just so thankful that he is alive," Marsha said. "He could have just as easily been killed."

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