Jamie W. just won her seventh consecutive Top Seller award at The Contributor’s vendor awards breakfast fundraiser in March. Though she was happy to receive her medal, it surprised her – since August, she’s been vending with a broken leg.
When Jamie was struck by a car crossing the road, all routine was thrown out the window, as she was thrown into a full year of recovery and physical therapy.
“On the afternoon of August the 19th, I was crossing Dickerson Road — I usually take the bus wherever I go, but anyway — I went up there to buy a bottle of ketchup, and then I was trying to get across the street, I was hit by a car. I got up to see if I could walk or move around, and then I couldn’t feel my left foot, so I fell back down to the ground,” Jamie said.
“The next day I had surgery, and then I was in there for about six days. About three or four months, I couldn’t put no weight whatsoever on my left leg. It’s like I had to have help from the bed to the bathroom.”
Jamie said it was painful needing assistance to go about her daily life — whether taking care of her many pets or vending — but her husband Tommy has helped make those possible during her recovery.
“Before my injury, I was so independent. I could go wherever without having to have help,” Jamie said. “I got five cats: Emma, Lucy, Riley, Bailey and Bo Duke. I’ve been with my husband, come March the 29th, we’ve known each other and been together 16 years. I’ve been selling the paper for about 12 years.”
Jamie said she’s never overjoyed to go out and vend these days with the pain in her leg, but it’s income she relies on to keep a roof overhead and take care of her family. It’s been that way since she first signed up for The Contributor, after a string of unsuccessful job applications pressured her to look for any income source she could find.
“My roommate passed away; she got a disability check, and I get one too, but she helped us pay the bills and whatnot,” she explained. “When she passed away, we didn’t know what in the world we was gonna do. We went everywhere trying to apply for jobs, I mean we went all over the place. Nobody called us or anything. Then somebody, I can’t remember who it was, told us about The Contributor … it was gonna be our only option.”
The sheer length of the recovery process has proved to be an enduring frustration as she makes ends meet.
“Excuse my language, but I’ve been through hell. I thought by the end of November that I would be a whole lot better and be out there, but evidently this is taking forever. It happened in August, and I couldn’t really do nothing September, October, or November.”
“It’s like God telling me to slow down,” she said.
It’s also proof of Jamie’s resilience, given what she’s been through over the years. After a heart attack and a similar injury years ago which gave her a tailbone fracture, she’s endured much to show up for her customers, her cats, and her husband.
Jamie’s whiled away the deluge of downtime with the assistance of classic, heartfelt drama films and country music.
“I love watching that movie, Steel Magnolias. It’s got Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley McClain,” she said. “It’s about these southern women and Julia Roberts — her name on the movie is Shelby — she’s a lady who’s gonna get married and she finds out she’s gonna have a baby, and then, too, she’s on dialysis … it’s a good movie.”
There’s been plenty of time to revisit old favorites, though Jamie hopes she can eventually get back to enjoying Nashville’s live music scene.
“My favorite singer is Tanya Tucker. She’s been around since 1972,” she said. “I ain’t really been able to go [to concerts] this year because I don’t want people bumping into me on my leg. One time we went and there was gonna be Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, and someone else, but with that, we were elbow to elbow with people. We had to fight our way to get out of there. I’ll never do that.”
Jamie said she is grateful to the community around The Contributor, including her customers, many of whom have been missing Jamie at her regular spot, she said. As she progresses toward a full recovery, she implored her fellow vendors and Nashvillians to be as careful as possible traveling on foot in the city.
“I just wanted to say, for everybody crossing the street, please be careful … God bless all the people with The Contributor, may God bless my customers, and thank you, everybody, always be cautious and careful.”