Girl injured in ATV accident reunited with nurse who planned surprise ball at hospital

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – An Iowa girl seriously injured in an ATV accident received a special surprise from her nurse.

The two formed a special bond when she was hospitalized; the nurse went out of her way to make sure the teen wouldn’t miss this milestone.

“I didn’t think I’d be walking down these halls like this again,” said Grace Johnston, a student from the Martensdale-St Marys Community School District.

Nearly six months ago, Grace was a patient at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines after an accident she never saw coming.

“We were having a lot of fun, and then we rolled and hit a bump and he crushed my arm,” Grace described.

The ATV crash crushed her artery and her bones.

“At that moment, all I could remember was seeing all that blood, and I thought, ‘Will my arm make it?'” Grace said.

Grace underwent nine surgeries and an extended hospital stay, but her mother, Jennifer Johnston, says one of the hardest things to watch was the emotional toll and missing an important milestone.

“It was very emotional because she was devastated about missing school and prom,” Grace’s mother said.

A nurse went above and beyond by giving a patient a surprise ball at the hospital.

“It’s funny because the very first question I asked after the surgery was, ‘When can I go to prom?’” the high school student said. “They say, ‘You can’t go to the ball, girl. You need to lie down.”

It was then that Grace’s mother confided in her nurse, Makenzie McBee.

“As we got closer to prom day, we knew it was coming and I told Makenzie, like, ‘Hey, I’m just scared of it,’ and I cried and said, ‘I don’t know. know what to tell her,” Jennifer Johnston described. “And Makenzie said, ‘Let’s do something.’”

So they set a goal.

“We didn’t tell her about the prom, but I said, ‘Hey, at the end of the day we’re going to walk down this hallway.’ We’re going to get up and we’re going to do it,'” McBee said.

The first steps she took since the accident led her to her junior prom in Blank.

In a room with a disco ball, a red carpet and music, Grace tearfully hugged her nurse because she knew that extra effort was a labor of love.

“Just seeing the smile and happiness on her face made it worth it,” McBee said.

They reunited in the same room six months later, giggling, smiling and hugging again.

Grace says the women on her team at Blank not only helped her arm heal, but also healed the scars that aren’t visible.

“The fact that they care and that they can relate to us and understand what we’re going through, that was the most important thing because if they hadn’t done that, I don’t think I would have recovered mentally either,” said Grace. “You feel blessed when you meet these people in your life.”

It wasn’t the prom she envisioned, but it’s one she’ll never forget.

Grace has big plans to attend her senior prom this year.

She has also spoken at schools in Iowa, warning other children about the risks of ATVs.