Russ' rough draft

Katie Amber Bunnow took the last name of Eric Raquet on Sept. 9, 2006, but her new lifestyle has not erased her experiences of feuding with her only brother, making an attempt at attending college and spending a year in sadness while her father recovered in a hospital room.

At the age of 17, Katie Raquet spent about one year living and bickering with her older brother Stevie Bunnow after her father had to spend that time in Chicago’s intensive care unit after being involved in a car accident.

Raquet’s father took the job of a part-time semi truck driver to earn enough money to buy snowmobiles for him and his son. Bunnow was driving in Chicago when a car cut-off him off, leading to his semi hitting a pillar of a bridge. The truck he was driving exploded and launched him through the windshield.

Suffering severe burns and broken bones, Raquet said her father spent about one year in Chicago and an additional six months in Milwaukee recovering. During that period, her mother was a factory worker and spent the majority of her time by her husband’s side.

Raquet said living without her father and mother was not only difficult financially, but that her brother was going through a “bad stage” in his life. She said he became a “big drinker” and a “pot head” at the age of 18 and would invite friends, sometimes exceeding 30, to party in their home while the siblings’ mother was in Chicago.

However, the hardships and unhappiness of the past were washed away once she met and married Eric. Raquet’s father attended the wedding of the two, and even though the scars remained from his burns and one of his ears was completely missing, the one thing everyone attending the immaculate wedding noticed about him was the large smile on his face during the event.

Now Raquet lives inside of a three bedroom ranch house located in Howards Grove, Wis. She is a former member of the Catholic Church and now attends the United Church of Christ. Raquet considers herself to be a “hardcore Republican” and enjoys a comfortable lifestyle as she continues to work and her husband holds a degree in engineering.

She became a medical assistant at the age of 18 for the Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs without experience. The position requires a degree and she joked they must of hired her “just for fun.”

Even though she enjoys the life she lives, Raquet said she does feel disappointed that she never enrolled in a four-year college. She even stopped attending Lakeshore Technical College during the process of becoming a dental hygienist.

With all her credits earned and only the dental program to complete, Katie said her current job of being a medical assistant was too good to let go. However, she still has ambitions to finish what she started.