High school senior graduates from her hospital room after surviving car crash
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WE/Gray News) - After a high school senior was injured in a car crash days before graduation, school officials made sure she still got her moment by bringing graduation right to her hospital room.
The parents of McKenzie Price, a Mosley High School senior, got the call that no parent ever wants to get last week: their daughter was involved in a car accident, WJHG reports.
“Getting that phone call in the middle of the night that your baby is hurt,” said David Price, McKenzie’s father.
That phone call came just days before McKenzie’s high school graduation. She wasn’t wearing a seat belt when she got into a late night crash on Highway 77.
“I did get knocked out after flying out of the Jeep. I don’t anything from that. So, I look down, and man, my hands were all covered in blood. There was blood all over me, but I think it was all from my mouth. There were cuts all over,” McKenzie said.
The accident left her with a broken jaw, several fractured bones and a bruised lung.
“I tell you that was the most scariest night of my life,” McKenzie’s father said. “Driving there, I just couldn’t get there fast enough. I didn’t know how bad she was hurt. She was on the phone, screaming, hysterically crying. So, a million things are going through my head: ‘How bad is she hurt? Is she in a ditch somewhere? Is she able to walk?’”
After McKenzie was stabilized and treated at Ascension Sacred Heart, the most heartbreaking part came next — realizing she wouldn’t be able to walk across the stage at graduation.
“I spent 12 years, you know, ‘Baby, you gotta do your homework,’ ‘Why is this grade low?’ ‘Dad, I’m gonna get it up,’ ‘Why are you tardy?’” David Price said.
But Mosley High School officials, hospital personnel, the Bay District Schools superintendent and friends made sure McKenzie still felt special by bringing graduation right to her hospital room.
“Every student matters. Each one of them has a unique story. Even the ones that are always smiling may have a difficult home life that they go home to, so hearing about McKenzie not being able to participate definitely. I knew her, so I wanted to make sure it was special,” said Kristi Page, assistant principal at Mosley High School.
McKenzie and her parents say they’re thankful she is alive and will be able to make a full recovery. She especially thanks her nurse for always putting a smile on her face and taking such great care of her.
“A lot of people have gone through that and not been able to make it out and not be able to continue on. I’m glad that I’m able to, and I’m so happy that I get to keep going,” McKenzie said.
She reminds everyone of the importance of wearing seat belts when driving and says that if she had been wearing hers, she would not be in this situation.
Following her graduation, McKenzie wants to the Coast Guard, and after recovering, she will be working towards that goal.
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