She injured her brain in an ATV crash, and is now warning others about safety
Tanya Pender didn't wear a helmet in 2006 because she didn't want to mess up her hair
Tanya Pender walks over to the couch in her parents' den to play with her little dog Toby, and her face lights up as he showers her with kisses.
The Newfoundland woman's strides and speech are more laboured now than they were 12 years ago, when she went out for a ride on an all-terrain vehicle with a friend.
That day, the teenager made a decision that would drastically change the course of her life.
"People told me the reason why I never wore a helmet is because I didn't want to mess up my hair. And that was bad," she said, noting that she can't remember anything from the time of the accident.
"I wish I could turn back time and put that helmet on."
A CBC News investigation has found that in one in five fatal accidents in Atlantic Canada since 2012, the rider did not put on a helmet.
- Fatal Fun: How Atlantic Canadians are dying on recreational vehicles
- N.L. leads the region in ATV and snowmobile deaths
Pender, now 27, is speaking out to warn others about the need for helmets when operating ATVs so they can avoid what she's had to endure.
"It took a lot of time [to recover]. I'm just thankful to [be] where I am today," she said.
The accident
It was a Sunday afternoon in October 2006, when 15-year-old Pender and her friend rode an ATV in a gravel pit in Paradise, a town on the outskirts of St. John's.
They lost control of the machine, and crashed into a piece of equipment.
At the time, the doctors told Pender's parents that if their daughter survived, she would never be the same.
She went into a coma for 11 days.
"I remember being in the Janeway [children's hospital], and I had a feeding tube and a tracheotomy," Pender said, pointing to the scar on her neck, where surgeons made an incision into her windpipe all those years ago to help with her breathing.
Pender underwent years of physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy — starting from scratch, to learn to walk and talk again.
"I had to learn words and letters, numbers ... the way I move my tongue," she said. "Just like a newborn."
When thinking back to that time, Pender says, she has blocked out the worst memories of her rehabilitation.
She says she got through it, because she was determined — and because she's stubborn like her father.
'Used to myself now'
Pender officially finished her physio and speech therapies about two years ago.
"They said … 'You're going to be as good as you are now. There's no changing,'" she said.
"I'm used to myself now, and know that I can't get [any] better."
Even though Pender has come a long way in her recovery, she says she finds it difficult to connect with others.
She says all of her friends at the time of the accident have moved on with their lives — and she finds it hard to make new ones.
"I do feel like a little bit judged," she said.
"I'm afraid to go out and socialize with people because of the way I talk, and my balance is not good."
'I'm your example'
Pender says she hopes her story can make people more aware of the importance of safety when it comes to using ATVs.
"I would say [to others]: 'Look what happened to me.… Do you want to go through what I went through?'" she asked.
I get so mad when I see people driving with no helmet on. Because, I'm like, 'Look at the risk you're taking! I'm your example.'- Tanya Pender
"It's a hard situation. But it could happen to anyone."
There's a stark reminder of the accident right in her own backyard: a pole line behind her house, where she often sees people driving ATVs and dirt bikes.
"I get so mad when I see people driving with no helmet on," she said. "Because, I'm like, 'Look at the risk you're taking! I'm your example.'"
Pender and her family also say they would like to see a change in the province's regulations, to raise the age restriction for ATV drivers in Newfoundland and Labrador from 16 to 18 years old.
Ongoing reminders
During the interview, Pender holds up her hands.
"I still [get] shakes, like tremors," she said, noting it's just one of the many physical reminders of her accident.
Pender then touches a spot on her head.
"I do have pain on my left side, [where] I hit my head," she said.
"It feels like it's bleeding inside. I don't know how, but that's what it feels like."
Pender says when she hit her left side, it affected her function on the right side of her body.
To demonstrate, she stands up and tries to shift her weight from one leg to the other, with her arms outstretched, struggling to find her balance — to no avail.
But instead of feeling defeated, Pender does it all with a smile on her face.
"I feel special, because I can use two hands," she said.
"I can do my makeup and everything with my left hand, but when it comes to writing and eating, I can only use my right hand, because I was right-handed before the accident. But it takes me a long time to write — a very long time."
Pender has pushed herself to get to this point, and has learned how to live with the injury. She says she knows just how lucky she is to be here.
"That's what I feel like, like I'm a miracle," she said.
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