Mistaken Identity

It was a sad week in our little town. Once again, tragedy struck and claimed the life of one of our young people. And once again, it was someone my kids and I knew. Let me tell you, going to a funeral for a teenager really stinks. I'm sure some of you have had the same experience, so you know what I mean.

Whitney was a 2005 high school graduate, attending college near Ft. Wayne, Indiana. She was the kind of girl that loved everyone and everyone loved her. Her mom is a teacher at one of the local schools and her dad is an assistant pastor at a church, so most of the town knows the family.

She and 7 other college students, along with a teacher, were on their way back to campus Wednesday evening after setting up a banquet hall for scholarship night, when a semi-truck came through the median on the freeway and collided with the van they were in. 4 students and the teacher were pronounced dead at the scene and the other 4 were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Whitney's older sister, Carly, who attends the same university, called her mom with the tragic news just minutes before a state trooper arrived at her parent's house. The poor woman was alone when she got word of her daughter's death. Her husband was on a missionary trip to Mississippi, helping rebuild after hurricane Katrina.

My son's friend, Matt, who was Whitney's boyfriend of two years, had been planning a big surprise for her for yesterday. He was going to propose to her on what would have been her 19th birthday. Instead of getting engaged, he paid his last respects.

The poor guy looked like he wanted to cry, but he didn't while we were at the funeral home. I was at a loss for words and all I could do was hug him. I told him to look around the room and he'd see how much she was loved by everyone.

The whole thing was very heart-breaking. This is the third teen in 3 years that died in a car accident who was a friend of my kids. Once again the funeral home was filled with students and teachers saying goodbye to someone whose life ended way too soon.

Nothing could compare to what happened on Wednesday. It was sooooo incredibly shocking and tear-jerking, but in a good way. Yet it was also very heartbreaking for other reasons.

You might remember in the April 30th issue I told you about a 19 year old girl from my town who was killed in a car accident.

By now most of you have probably heard the news stories about the mistaken identities of two college girls who were in a car accident on April 26th in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

These two young women looked very much alike and with the bruises and swelling caused by the impact of the crash, they were hard to recognize, even by their own parents. One girl was buried on April 30th and the other was in a coma, but is now awake and recovering in a hospital in southwestern Michigan.

Have you guessed where I'm going with this?

YES, the girl whose funeral we thought we attended is the girl in the hospital, NOT the cemetary!

In one of the strangest turn of events in history, Whitney is alive and doing well. Everyone was in a state of disbelief at first, then as the news sank in, the tears of joy flowed freely. Our whole community is overwhelmed with happiness!

But among all the happy tears are also tears of sadness for the family who thought their daughter, Laura, had survived the horrific crash. They now have to bury her instead of taking her home from the hospital. Unfortunately, in this case one family's joy is another family's sorrow.

Laura's sister started a blog right after the accident to keep their family and friends updated on her condition. Now the blog is keeping us updated on Whitney's condition.

The families of these two girls finally broke their silence after almost 2 years and they told their heart-wrenching story in a book that was released on March 25th, 2008.

"Mistaken Identity" is the amazing story of faith and love that surrounded the tragic accident in which Whitney Cerak was presumed dead.

Throughout the ordeal, the Ceraks and Van Ryns never lost their faith in God and the belief that this was His will and it was not up to them to question it.

If ever there was a story that could bring faith and inspiration to others, this is it. Two families, thrown together in the most awful of circumstances, became each other's "Rock of Gibralter" during their trying times.

"Mistaken Identity" is currently being sold at bookstores nationwide.

Whitney's parents autographed copies of the book on April 12th at our local bookstore, Saturn Booksellers. The bookstore donated a portion of the proceeds to the UP Bible Camp's Retreat Center Building Fund for each autographed copy of the book they sold.

It is estimated that 500 people turned out for the book signing, which is a pretty good chunk of money for the Bible Camp. Saturn Booksellers donated over $2200 to my knowledge.

I highly recommend reading the book, even if you saw the TV shows, because the book covers more details that explain both families thoughts and feelings than the TV shows could in their alloted time.

Update August 17, 2009 - Mistaken Identity was released as a paperback book and is being sold at bookstores nationwide.

Newell and Colleen Cerak (Whitney's parents) along with Don and Susie Van Ryn (Laura's parents) appeared on the following TV shows:

The Today Show - March 27th and 28th 2008
Dateline NBC - March 28th 2008
The Oprah Winfrey Show - April 1nd 2008

Whitney gave an appearance on the Today Show on March 28, 2008 to tell her story.

The biggest question on everyone's mind when the mistake was discovered 5 weeks after the accident was "how could they not know it wasn't Laura in the hospital bed?"

The book, as well as the TV interviews, answered that question. Actually, it was Laura's sister, Lisa, who I feel answered it the best...

She said it was like they were gathering pieces of a puzzle - a puzzle they didn't know they were supposed to be putting together.

During the 5 weeks prior to discovering the error, the Van Ryns saw little signs that something wasn't right...

"Laura's" teeth looked different.
They assumed the accident had caused injuries.

Her belly button had been pierced.
They assumed she had done this without telling them.

But even though some things didn't seem quite right, the doctors and nurses had told them to expect Laura to look differently due to her injuries. She also had tubes in her, a giant bandage covering most of her head, she was wearing a neck brace, and she was swollen and bruised.

The Van Ryns only had one thing on their minds during this time - to get Laura well again. I believe any of us would feel the same way if we were in their shoes. They really had no reason to think it was someone other than Laura in the bed. After all, the authorities identify accident victims before notifying family members, and according to the authorities this was Laura.

But unfortunately, in the chaos at the scene of the accident, the authorities had made "assumptions" instead of proper identifications...

Laura's purse was found lying near the critically injured and unconcious Whitney, approximately 50 feet from the van they had been riding in. The two girls resembled each other enough that when they checked the ID in her wallet, they assumed it was Laura lying there.

That wrongful assumption led to heartbreak, sorrow, devastation, and a variety of other emotions felt not only by these two families, but by millions of people worldwide.

Less than 3 weeks after its release, "Mistaken Identity" topped the charts as the #1 non-fiction hardback book on the New York Times Best Seller List.

I knew it would get there, but I didn't expect it to become a best seller so quickly!

But it's one of those books that's hard to put down. The story of Whitney, Laura and their families was absolutely riveting, and a tear-jerker from start to finish.

Today I had the pleasure of having my copy of "Mistaken Identity" autographed by Newell and Colleen Cerak at our local bookstore. I got there half an hour before the book signing was scheduled to start, and I was about the 40th person in line. There must have been 150 people (or more) in the line by the time I left. (Glad I got there early!)

Update on June 10, 2008 Mistaken Identity is no longer #1 on the list. It dropped to #32 as of this date, but it's still selling strong.