A car crash sent the couple to the ER — but what the doctors discovered next was far more serious than the accident
One couple had never thought that one harrowing accident would lead to a life-saving discovery for one of them. The man and the woman had recently started dating after the woman, Emily Starling, moved into the apartment above the man, Tyler Murdoch's, place. They were on their way to a date at a hockey game and were really excited to spend time together. However, Murdoch started experiencing a seizure while he was driving and there was a severe car crash. The scans that followed revealed a major concern for Murdoch, per PEOPLE.
Starling was really excited to go to the hockey game and was constantly chatting with Murdoch before they left. "We were in good spirits, just excited to go to the game." Both of them got into the man's jeep and started driving towards the location. However, just a couple of minutes later, the man had realized that something was off. "I asked, 'What did you say?' And then that was it. When I looked over, he was seizing. This was his first seizure." Murdoch's hands and legs had stiffened and he was foaming at the mouth. He was unconscious and had no control over the car anymore. Starling tried to move him and take his foot off the gas. But it was really difficult. "He’s 6'1 and his leg had stiffened completely. We went from about 25 to 60 miles per hour. It was deafening — it felt like we were flying."
"It felt like forever. But it was probably less than half a mile." Starling tried to get people's attention by honking and banging the windshield. The jeep flipped three times and the woman was thrown off the top. She was in a lot of pain, but she was really worried about Murdoch, who was just slumped in his seat after the vehicle stopped. "I thought he was dead for like 20 minutes." She managed to reach Murdoch inside the overturned car. A passing car noticed them and called 911 to help the couple. Many people came out of the houses next to the road and wrapped blankets around the woman. They sat with her until the ambulance arrived to offer their support.
Soon enough, the paramedics were there to help the couple. "I thought my whole body was broken. But all I could focus on was keeping him alive." After being checked at the hospital, it was found that Starling had a fracture in her lower arm and some facial numbness. Murdoch only had a small scratch on his back. An MRI scan to find the cause of the seizure revealed a large tumor in the man's brain. Murdoch was scheduled for surgery soon after that. Starling's parents came in to help them and so did the man's mother and grandfather. Murdoch lost around 30 pounds after surgery. So the couple was focused on physical and mental recovery after the incident.
"This is a very traumatic situation, and we’re a new couple," Starling went on. A GoFundMe account was set up to help the couple with medical expenses and for the time they spent on getting back to their feet. The fundraiser managed to raise over $10,755 in less than two months. They had also received a lot more help in other aspects from their community. "Usually, I’m the person out there helping others. I always keep tools and a jack in the back of my car. I stop on the side of the road to help people whenever I can. My dad called it 'paying it forward.' You do something good and it comes back as good karma. And it did. I've always helped people. Now people are helping us. It's like good karma coming back," 33-year-old Murdoch expressed.