Counting off "one two three," Ling Murray hoisted herself off the bed at a Petaluma rehabilitation hospital and with the aid of a walker began to take her first steps toward home.
The Rohnert Park mother has endured weeks of grueling surgeries and rehab sessions to regain use of her limbs in the 100 days since she and her 2-year-old child, Calli, were struck by an oncoming vehicle in a crosswalk.
"I have no words, no words," said Murray. "I get to go home."
There were no dry eyes among the nurses, aides and other staff at the Petaluma Post-Acute Rehab on B Street Thursday morning as Murray, her husband Jeff Murray, 48, and their mothers headed to their car.
Murray, 42, took strong, steady steps, though one leg was still in a brace, and the other could only bend a few degrees at the knee; she couldn't lean too much on her left arm, where about an inch of bone was missing and held together with screws.
"When I first saw my body like that, I just cried," said Murray. "I can't believe I can walk."
Getting discharged from the Petaluma rehab hospital brought a mix of joy and sorrow for Murray, who would finally get to greet her teenaged son when he came home from school and sleep in her own bed.
But she was returning home without Calli, who was killed when they were struck, just a few weeks shy of her third birthday.
Murray and Calli were crossing Snyder Lane at Medical Center Drive on their way home from the park at about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, about a quarter of a mile from their home.
Calli died at the scene. Murray suffered major injuries.
Driver Kaitlyn Dunaway, then 18, a Sonoma State University freshman, was using her cell phone when she struck them, according to police. The case has been turned over to the DA's office for consideration of charges.
That fact has rallied Rohnert Park residents who have launched T-shirt campaigns against distracted driving.
Murray said she hopes talking about her grief will help people stop "answering the phone, eating, putting on make-up" at the wheel.
"We need people to talk about this," she said. "I want people to understand my heart is broken."
On Thursday, the Murrays drove the long way to their apartment off Snyder Lane to avoid driving through the intersection where mother and daughter were hit.
Murray walked into their apartment and looked up at a wall of photos of her children. She sobbed in the entry way in her husband's arms.
Her mother Qu Li, 67, of Santa Clara took down a frame full of photos of Calli as an infant, as a smiling toddler at the pool, with her family at the park.
Calli's toys were stored under a tarp in the back yard.
"I don't want Calli to be an angel Murray said. "I want her to be my daughter."
Donations to support the Murrays can be sent to the Calli Ann Memorial Fund, or CAMF, at any Wells Fargo Bank branch.
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