MONTAGUE, Mich. — A teen hit by a snow plow in January while waiting for the bus was allowed to leave the hospital on Sunday to graduate high school.
Montague High School senior Loren Kroll is lucky to be alive, let alone graduate high school on time. Her doctor says it was the worst injury of its kind she'd ever seen, but Kroll beat the odds and wheeled her way to graduation on Sunday.
“The trauma doctor told us it was the worst injury of that kind she’d ever seen.” said Ron Kroll, Loren's father.
Loren was hit by a snow plow while waiting for the school bus in January.
“I was walking out to get on the bus because the driver stopped, but I didn’t know she didn’t have the lights on," said Loren Kroll. "I never saw the snowplow coming. He came out of nowhere.”
Loren broke her arm, leg and pelvis among other internal injuries, but after 15 weeks in the hospital, she was able to don her cap and gown.
“I’ve been keeping up with my schoolwork," she said. "I do my work on the computer."
“The special thing is really that she could be well enough and be able to come here and be with her friends and family and community members," said Ron Kroll.
"They’ve supported us so much through this trauma with cards and well wishes and money and gas cards.”
It was a tough recovery made more difficult from the very start. Loren battles with oppositional defiant disorder, bipolar disorder and has low cognitive ability.
“Loren is a special needs student, so it was a little bit easier because she has a certificate of completion and not a regular diploma," he said.
"It has also has made her injuries harder because she’s a little more difficult to work with, so the staff in the hospital and the doctors had to be extra forgiving and they just did a great job. It shouldn't be too long and with a little luck she will be walking and she'll be home."
Loren says she doesn't know what her long-term plans are just yet, but she knows she wants to do something working with children. She will now head to Mary Free Bed on Monday to start rehabilitation.
