Woman comes to aid of injured friend
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

Cheryl Green

Cheryl Green still has a long, hard road of recovery in front of her and she won't be coming home from the hospital anytime soon.

But on Thursday she was able to make her friend smile.

Green, 31, of Grover, N.C., has been hospitalized since Christmas Day after she was thrown from the hood of a car while trying to stop two alleged shoplifters from leaving the Wilco Travel Plaza in Blacksburg. For most of the time since then, she has been in a coma.

Lifelong friend Crystal Oughton-Skidmore, who established a charitable organization to raise funds for Green and her children, said Thursday her friend has made progress.

Seeing her on Thursday for the first time since the accident, Skidmore said she both cried and felt happy. Green has been responding to people and has been able to mouth some words, Skidmore said.

"We she saw me, she kept saying 'pretty, pretty.' Not audibly, because she has a tracheotomy. She was mouthing it to me."

Skidmore established the charitable organization at www.supportcherylgreen.com shortly after the Dec. 25 incident. She's also trying to organize a benefit concert for Green somewhere in the Upstate.

Unable to afford a plane ticket to come see Green, Skidmore said someone donated the use of a rental car for her to come to the Upstate region. She arrived Wednesday and was able to spend almost all of Thursday with Green.

While Skidmore has her own family, including three young children in Kentucky, she hopes she can spend as much time as possible in Grover to assist Green's family and help care for Green's three children.

Describing it as a big effort for Green, Skidmore said Green mouthed a kiss on her hand when she told her she would be taking care of her children. Skidmore said Green also reacted positively when she mentioned a name from their shared past.

"It was such a good sign, that she was waking up," Skidmore said.

Despite the good signs, Skidmore said she knows her friend isn't coming home anytime soon.

"Nobody has ever said she woke up and is out of the coma," she said. Moreover, Skidmore said she could see signs of her friend's severe pain when her medication wore off.

"It was a good day, but a bad day, too."

Skidmore's donated car rental was only good for a week. She's hoping other donations might come in to allow her to spend more time in Grover or help defer travel expenses when she goes back to care for her own family.