A happy ending after a tragic accident for 2-year-old Preston Simpson, who wasseverely injured in an ATV accident in Rockportback in December 2020.
Fast forward to Wednesday, Preston and his family got to visit the HALO-flight hangar to thank the people who transported him to the hospital - possibly saving his life.
It's been nearly a year since Preston suffered a traumatic brain injury. According to authorities, Preston was on an ATV with his mother when he pressed the accelerator causing her to fall off. Preston, still on the ATV, struck a tree.
After a lot of therapy and learning to walk again, Preston is like any other toddler, full of energy.
He and his family got to visit HALO-flight and look at all the helicopters, as well as spend time with the flight nurse and flight paramedic who helped get him to Driscoll Children's Hospital quickly.
"It is an extremely big deal for us because the last time we were this close to helicopter, we did not know if he was going to come home and today we know he is doing really well, he has recovered tremendously and we will be able to leave here knowing we had fun instead of worrying about him," said Preston's dad, Tyson Simpson.
Keely Maxey, a flight nurse, and Evan Klemcke, a flight paramedic, had just returned from their honeymoon; their first call back was to help transport Preston.
"We saw his injury, and knew the possibility of a grim outcome, and it is just amazing to see him today and how far along he has come," Klemcke said.
His wife said it's nice to see Preston's mother smiling again.
"This is the whole reason why we do it, for our patients and the family, we had mom on scene with us, it is nice to see her laughing a smiling now," Maxey said.
The Simpsons emphasize the importance of wearing helmets when riding ATVs, and are thankful their little miracle has progressed so much.
