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Park City • For a time, Lacey Picard could express her pain only by contorting her face. Her friends and family were thrilled by the "smiley" and "ugly" faces she made; they meant progress.
These days, the Park City woman, who was struck by a car while riding her horse on Labor Day 2011, is improving beyond doctors' initial expectations.
"We just see every day improvement in her cognition, in her ability to talk and say what her situation is," says Linda Watkins, who has been appointed as Picard's medical executor. "We can ask her if she is in pain, and she can say yes or no. It's a huge improvement over having to guess."
Picard, 37, has had surgeries on her brain and her legs. Watkins said the woman can do simple addition and subtraction. She works with physical, speech and music therapists. She has her complete vocabulary, and she's started eating soft foods.
At the South Davis Community Hospital in Davis County, Picard splits time between her hospital bed and a wheelchair. Doctors say she has no paralysis.
Picard knows she was in an accident and that she has a long way to go in her recovery.
"She said, 'There's something wrong with my mind.' She knows there's a battle going on inside her body," Summit County Attorney David Brickey said Friday, during a review hearing for the 16-year-old driver who hit Picard in September.
The girl hit Picard and her pinto quarterhorse, Tahoe, from behind on Silver Creek Road. The teen had been issued her license only four weeks earlier. Officials say she was driving at least 40 mph in the 35 mph zone and may have been distracted just prior to the crash.
Picard, a chiropractor who worked in Holladay, suffered serious head injuries and broken bones. The horse was killed.
In December, the girl admitted to one count each of class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment and class B misdemeanor aggravated cruelty to an animal. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed a class C misdemeanor count of careless driving.
At the Friday review hearing, officials said the teen has volunteered with the Salvation Army to complete some of the 175 hours of community service ordered by 3rd District Juvenile Court Judge Mark May.
May also revoked the girl's driver license until she is 21 and ordered her to visit the victim.
The teen and her father have visited Picard in the hospital.
"She talked to Lacey and told her how sorry she was," Watkins said. "At that point, Lacey was not able to talk yet. ... She is a really nice girl. It is just a tragedy all the way around — for her, for Lacey. It is just a tragedy."
Defense attorney Gail Laser said the teen is "working through feelings of guilt and regret."
The teen's family is working with Picard's family to settle restitution and a civil case to help cover the "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in medical bills, the attorney said. Another review hearing was set for July 27.
"Everybody is really pleased that Lacey is doing better than expected," Laser said Friday.