AURORA, Colo. — Nearly 10 years after a catastrophic motorcycle crash left her fighting for her life, Whitney Bennefield returned to the intensive care unit at HCA HealthONE Aurora to thank the team that saved her.
Bennefield was given little chance of survival after the 2016 crash. She spent three weeks in the ICU with life-threatening injuries, including a traumatic brain injury.
"When it first happened, we didn't know what her life would be," her mother Julie Bennefield said. "We were told maybe she'll go to a nursing home, and that was really hard as a parent to hear those words."
Today, Whitney Bennefield lives independently, holds a job, and trains for running and cycling events.
"There's just a part of my brain that's like, we can do it better. We can do better than we are doing," Whitney Bennefield said.
Brandi Williams, trauma program manager at HCA HealthONE Aurora, was working as a trauma coordinator when Bennefield arrived at the hospital in 2016. Williams said seeing Bennefield again brought the experience back.
"When I saw her parents, that started to kind of pull some memories out," Williams said.
Williams said her role at the time was to support the family and coordinate care.
"At the time, I was the trauma coordinator, and I did follow her. And my role was just to answer questions, be that support person, and then work with all of the therapies and nurses," Williams said.
Williams said reunions like this one are rare for trauma care teams, who typically only see patients during the most critical phase of their recovery.
"We don't get to see what they look like and what they're doing once they get out of the hospital," Williams said.
Seeing how far Bennefield has come left an impression on her former care team.
"To see someone who has gone above and beyond what was anticipated, and doing half marathons and lifting weights — I mean, that's amazing," Williams said.
For Bennefield, returning to the hospital was about making sure the people who saved her life knew the difference they made.
"It's great because I get to come back and thank all the people that saved my life," Bennefield said. "Not many people come back to give their thanks, and so I just wanted to make it my priority to make sure that they are thanked."
Bennefield now works at a rehabilitation facility, where she said she tries to pass on what she received from her own care team.
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