The event was the third at Memorial Hermann, honoring a group of about 25 people who survived major injuries in recent years with medals and a chance to talk to emergency medical technicians, first responders and physicians who helped them.
Those affected
Memorial Hermann is one of two Trauma Level II facilities in The Woodlands area, the other being HCA Healthcare in Conroe, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. The Trauma Level II designation means the hospital provides 24-hour emergency physicians and general surgeons as well as several specialties.
- Cynthia Thigpen recalled the incident on Sept. 19, 2023, when she was driving in a rural area and was struck by a truck driven by a teenager who was texting. She said the other driver was not injured, despite not wearing a seatbelt. However, Thigpen sustained multiple internal injuries that required months of recovery.
- "As a total, I had 31 surgeries; I was here approximately four and a half months," Thigpen said.
- Mark Meeker described how he fell from a ladder at the wedding venue his family operates and was found by his son-in-law shortly thereafter.
- "From that point, for about four months, there's not a single picture or a video in my mind of anybody and anything," he said.
- Andres Briceño spent two weeks in a coma following an accident in 2023, waking up on his mother’s birthday, he said. Briceño said the care he received allowed him to regain mobility and function and inspired him to continue to interact with survivor community.
- “All of our journeys shape how we are and change us; trust in the power of your story ... use it for good," he said. “It can be as simple as celebrating the small things every day."
Many of the survivors participate in a trauma survivorship support group facilitated by Memorial Hermann The Woodlands designed to provide psychological support.
"This energy in the room from everybody who has taken part in taking care of these patients to the family members that are thinking back to that night that their loved one was injured and they didn't know what was going to happen to where they are today," Trauma Survivorship Coordinator Melanie Bradshaw said. "It's just it's truly magical, and I'm honored and blessed to be a part of it.”
