HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — Denise Gorondy-Toderico was one mile from her home in Montpelier, Virginia, on the morning of June 5, 2016, when a driver traveling 65 miles per hour crossed the double yellow line and struck her from behind.
"It was six o'clock on a Sunday morning. There wasn't anybody on the road," Gorondy-Toderico said.
The driver fled the scene. An hour later, a cyclist found her in a farmer's field, clinging to life, and called for help. She was airlifted to VCU Medical Center.
The equine veterinarian and married mother of two sustained a broken neck and back, two collapsed lungs, severe orthopedic injuries, a traumatic brain injury, several strokes, and other trauma.
"I should have died. And I realize that," Gorondy-Toderico said. "I'm fortunate. Very fortunate."
Her husband, Ben Toderico, a former officer with the Richmond Police Department, described the uncertainty of those early days.
"The expectation of her surviving was pretty low. She wouldn't respond to pain. She wouldn't respond to light. She wouldn't respond to sound," Ben said. "The nurses would get teary eyed."
"From a physical standpoint, yes, any one of those injuries could have taken me out," he said.
Gorondy-Toderico was in a coma for a week. When she woke, she did not recognize her own children.
"When I woke up, I didn't know who my boys were. I knew who Ben was, but I didn't know who anybody else was," she said.
Family, friends, colleagues, and strangers rallied around her as her recovery began.
"It was painful. Very painful," Gorondy-Toderico said.
Ben documented her journey on video throughout, holding onto a belief that others around him did not yet share.
"There was something about that I knew she wasn't going. Even in the beginning when nobody knew," he said. "I just had an unwavering faith that she was going to be okay."
After 40 days in the hospital, Gorondy-Toderico was released and began rehabilitation at home.
"I just wanted to be part of the family again," she said. "I've not been one to back down from a challenge. When I set a goal, I go after it."
A decade later, she still lives with constant discomfort.
"I describe the neuropathic pain as, someone lit my arm on fire and sticking needles in my arm all day long," she said.
Through it all, Ben has served as her trainer, caregiver, and partner.
"Ben was my everything. He was my nurse. He was my coach. He was my spouse. He was the father of my kids. And I leaned on him so hard," Gorondy-Toderico said.
His approach to her recovery has remained consistent.
"My philosophy has always been, whatever she wants to do, we'll figure out how to do it," Ben said. "I mean, she has come so far, so far with everything."
That philosophy extends to whatever goals she sets next.
"If she comes up with 'Hey Ben, I want to mountain bike,' I'm like, 'Okay. I don't know when but we'll do it'," he said.
The couple's shared motto — Ever Forward — reflects the mindset that has carried them through the past 10 years.
"You have to celebrate those positives," Gorondy-Toderico said.
"I'm incredibly proud of like she says there was no other choice. I knew there was no other choice for Denise. I'm just proud she does it every day," Ben said.
Gorondy-Toderico acknowledges the road ahead is still long.
"I'm certainly better where I once was but I am not where I need to be," she said.
"Most days are better than the last. Every now and then I have a bump in the road but everybody does," she said.
She is determined not to let June 5, 2016, define her.
"So as long as you do the work you'll get where you want to be. Failure isn't an option," Gorondy-Toderico said. "It is part of who I am."
A short documentary about her comeback, also titled Ever Forward, won best documentary at this year's San Diego Short Film Festival.
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