DAYTON — Four people who survived traumatic injuries got a chance to formally thank those who saved their lives Tuesday night.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the celebration was a healing event for many people in attendance.
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Before the ceremony started, four survivors reunited with the medical staff that saved their lives.
For many of them, it was the first time they’ve seen them since they left the Miami Valley Hospital.
17-year-old Brooke Bergman was one of the survivors in attendance Tuesday night.
She was driving home from school last September when a semi-truck t-boned her car.
Bergman was unconscious when Dr. Yee Wong and the trauma team took over her care.
“We found that she had a head injury. She had bleeding inside of her brain,” Wong said.
Bergman needed a breathing and feeding tube. She had fractures in multiple bones, including her pelvis and femur.
“I learned how to walk again, I learned how to run again, I had to go from using a walker to actually walking so it’s been a long road,” Bergman said.
She goes to Versailles High School and is passionate about basketball and softball.
Less than 10 weeks after the crash, she was back in school.
In August, she finished therapy.
“It felt really good because I’m like, yes! I’m almost ready to play basketball again,” Bergman said.
She added that the people in this room saved her life.
And the medical staff said they’re so happy she’s healing.
“In this particular instance, it did kind of touch home because it’s a young driver, it’s a teen, it caught my attention, and I was going to do the best that I could for her,” one CareFlight nurse said.
Crystal Ayers, Taren Kinnel and Derrick Selhorst were also honored during Tuesday night’s celebration.
They were all involved in serious crashes that left them with traumatic injuries.
“For the patients, it is many times a form of closure for some of them to be able to come here and see some people who took care of them. Many of who they are not even aware of, but the families recognize those faces, and it’s just all a feeling of gratitude,” a doctor said.
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