MIRACLE MONDAY – Abigail Peddycoart
Alison Peddycoart assumed it was just another normal day at work. It was a busy day and she had received multiple missed calls from her mother’s phone. Her daughter, Abigail Peddycoart, typically calls her throughout the day, so this was not unusual for her.
“I accidentally answered the call on my apple watch, and a man asked me if the number that was calling was my mother’s phone,” said Alison Peddycoart. “I responded with “Yes, why?” and he said ‘Your mother and your children have been in an accident.’ I asked if everyone was okay and he said that my mother and my son were fine. I asked, “What about my little girl?” to which he responded, “she’s not breathing.”
Alison began to panic. She tried to assist over the phone. She ran and told her co-workers that she was leaving and tried to find reassurance from somebody that her daughter would be okay. “I tried telling myself that there’s no way it’s nearly as bad as what I imagined.”
Abigail was taken to St. John’s. She had a major brain bleed, bilateral lung contusions, a femur fracture, and multiple facial injuries. “She was alive. She had a chance. That’s all I wanted.”
Abigail survived and is thriving. Today is Abigail’s 10th birthday! She has been trying new things and re-learning a lot of skills. She is excelling at school and enjoys dance, cheer, swimming, and reading! She even came up with an idea to collect toys throughout the year and donate them to the children in the hospital on the anniversary of her car accident.
“The staff at St. John’s was very reassuring and included me in everything that they did. There is not a single action that anyone made that I questioned. The nursing care, the physician care, everything was flawless. I remember doctors that were part of her care at different times would stop by and check on her. I don’t think I would have been able to get through this situation without the genuine caring that these individuals showed my family and I. I also don’t think that I would have been able to trust any other group of individuals to care for her like I did them.”
Do you have a miracle child that was treated as HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital? Facebook message us or email dave.newton@hshs.org and tell us your story! #miraclemondays