ATV Accident (Trauma)
On Thanksgiving Day 2011, our 8 year old daughter was involved in a serious ATV accident. She was unresponsive when we found her and our Crew Cab Polaris Ranger was on top of her. Halee was airlifted to a Dothan, Alabama hospital, and then airlifted to Children's Hospital. Once arriving at Children's, we were hit with a parent's worst nightmare. We were told our little girl might not make it through the night. Halee was on a ventilator, had 2 chest tubes, and multiple ivs. She had 6 broken ribs, a lacerated liver, both lungs severly bruised and one lung had collapsed. Her pelvis was broken in two places and she had a fracture in her face. There were more bruises, scrapes and "road burn" than I could name. Once we were allowed to go back to PICU, we were heartbroken to see our child in that condition. From the very beginning, we were astonished at the care and concern that was shown by the staff at Children's. From the chaplain, to the doctors, and all the many nurses...it was amazing. The first night, there must have been 10 people constantly around our sweet angel. There was a nurse that made such a caring gesture, and I don't even know her name. She carefully brushed Halee's hair, cleaning up the dirt and grass, and braided her hair into beautiful pigtails, complete with matching ribbons. It may not have seemed like much to some, but for someone to take the time to do that, meant so much. The nurses and doctors in PICU were absolutely amazing, and within 48 hours, they were talking about taking Halee off the vent. Within a few days, we were in a regular room on the 6th floor, and within another week we were home. A few days later, we were back with two blood clots, and landed ourselves a room on the 4th floor. The staff was absolutely amazing. Today, only a few months after the accident, Halee is back to normal. Except for taking her blood thinner shots, you would never know anything had happened to her. I had always heard what an amazing place Children's Hospital was, although I had hoped I would never have to see first hand. Going through what we went through, I cannot think of anywhere else I would have wanted my child to be cared for.
