New Orleans Nursing Student Graduates in Hospital After Car Crash.Photo:FOX 8
FOX 8
A nursing student from Louisiana Tech University who was injured in a car crash shortly before her graduation received a special ceremony in the hospital last week.
MacKenzie Maier and her friend were previously involved in an accident after leaving an off-campus party together. “My friend was driving. She went off the side of the road into some trees,” Maier toldFox 8 Local First. “I was in the backseat. I had fallen asleep.”
She continued: “I couldn’t move my legs. I could not move my hands, and I was like, this isn’t good.”
The accident caused damage to her spinal cord, and Maier had to be airlifted for emergency surgery, before she was then transferred to Touro in New Orleans for rehabilitation.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen to you,” said Mallory Ashmore, Maier’s sister. “You don’t expect this to happen to you. So obviously, it was very shocking, very upsetting.”
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“Giving people support as they push through adversity, celebrating their success, pays huge dividends. Not just for the person but for all of us,” Cassidy said, per Fox 8 Local First. “It is a reminder to us to help that struggling person. They will push through, and they will come back and bless us all.”
He then told Maier that she would be “such a great” nurse, adding, “All the adversity that you have had will bless somebody in the future, because you will be able to tell them there is hope.”
The ceremony also featured a speech from Louisiana Tech President Les Guice. “Despite the many challenges and trials you encountered during your time at Louisiana Tech, it was you who set goals and worked tirelessly to achieve them,” Guice said.
The accident wasn’t the first challenge Maier has had to overcome. At four years old, she was given a 30 percent chance of survival when diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma, which later inspired her to become a pediatric intensive care nurse.
“I love the kids," she said. “I’m a big kid girl, plus I like the critical care part of it. It keeps you on your toes, a little challenging. I’ve seen rougher sides of it, and I was that kid growing up. So, I feel like I have a special connection with them.”
Maier will live with her sister while continuing rehab, and will then take steps toward her nursing career.
“It’s a blessing that I get to help her with this,” Ashmore said. “I’m really excited about all the progress she’s made. And she’s going to do great things.”
source: people.com
