Community Corner
Emily Bowman To Return Home on Thursday
The former Kennesaw State University student is expected to be discharged from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite later this week.
by Kristal Dixon
The woman who has spent the last four months in an out of area hospitals after she was hit by an alleged drunk driver will soon be able to go home.
Emily Bowman will be discharged from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite on Thursday, according to the Bows for Bowman Facebook page.
"I have lots of emotions going on right now," Debbie Bowmanwrote on Saturday regarding her daughter's imminent release. "On the one hand I am ready to go home with her as I am tired of living in the hospital for the past 4 months, but (I) am also very nervous about it. I can only take what I have learned to care for her along with all the love I have for her and do the best I can."
Bowman will return to her home in Towne Lake that has been renovated and partially remodeled to suit her needs. Roswell-based Sunshine on a Ranney Day has been hard at work in the last month renovating the main level of the home and personalizing Bowman's new room.
Those renovations include: converting the den on the main level into a room for Debbie Bowman, which will allow her to be close to her daughter; converting the dining room into a bedroom for Bowman when she returns; remodeled a half-bathroom on the main level into a full handicap-accessible bathroom; remove carpeting and install new flooring in the main areas to accommodate Bowman's wheelchair; constructing a wheelchair ramp outside the front door of the home; and furnishing and decorating each of the new rooms.
The organization on Thursday is planning to formally reveal the new look when the Bowmans return home.
Debbie Bowman in her post that Sunshine on a Ranney Day and their volunteers are "truly amazing people" and added she's ready to start the next chapter in her daughter's recovery.
"God will be with us as we embark on this next phase," she wrote. "I really feel in my heart that it is time for us to take her home for now. I also feel that she will get to the point of getting back to rehab at a different level and we will go home with her and support and care for her until she is ready."
The woman who has spent the last four months in an out of area hospitals after she was hit by an alleged drunk driver will soon be able to go home.
Emily Bowman will be discharged from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite on Thursday, according to the Bows for Bowman Facebook page.
"I have lots of emotions going on right now," Debbie Bowmanwrote on Saturday regarding her daughter's imminent release. "On the one hand I am ready to go home with her as I am tired of living in the hospital for the past 4 months, but (I) am also very nervous about it. I can only take what I have learned to care for her along with all the love I have for her and do the best I can."
Bowman will return to her home in Towne Lake that has been renovated and partially remodeled to suit her needs. Roswell-based Sunshine on a Ranney Day has been hard at work in the last month renovating the main level of the home and personalizing Bowman's new room.
Those renovations include: converting the den on the main level into a room for Debbie Bowman, which will allow her to be close to her daughter; converting the dining room into a bedroom for Bowman when she returns; remodeled a half-bathroom on the main level into a full handicap-accessible bathroom; remove carpeting and install new flooring in the main areas to accommodate Bowman's wheelchair; constructing a wheelchair ramp outside the front door of the home; and furnishing and decorating each of the new rooms.
The organization on Thursday is planning to formally reveal the new look when the Bowmans return home.
Debbie Bowman in her post that Sunshine on a Ranney Day and their volunteers are "truly amazing people" and added she's ready to start the next chapter in her daughter's recovery.
"God will be with us as we embark on this next phase," she wrote. "I really feel in my heart that it is time for us to take her home for now. I also feel that she will get to the point of getting back to rehab at a different level and we will go home with her and support and care for her until she is ready."
Bowman, a former Kennesaw State University student and Woodstock High School graduate, had been hospitalized in critical condition at Athens Regional Medical Center between Feb. 16 and March 8 when she was hit by a pick-up truck as she and a friend walked along Oak Street.
They were walking on the grassy shoulder, investigators believe, when William Wilson Heaton's pickup left the road and then hit Bowman from behind as he returned the vehicle to the road. He left the area and abandoned the truck, police believe.
Heaton was arrested and charged with hit-and-run, driving under the influence, serious injury by vehicle, failure to maintain lane, reckless driving, and open container.
Just last week, he was indicted by a Clarke County Grand Jury on 13 counts, including DUI, open container, reckless driving, serious injury by vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report the accident and failure to maintain lane.
Heaton was arrested and charged with hit-and-run, driving under the influence, serious injury by vehicle, failure to maintain lane, reckless driving, and open container.
Just last week, he was indicted by a Clarke County Grand Jury on 13 counts, including DUI, open container, reckless driving, serious injury by vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report the accident and failure to maintain lane.
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