VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Friends of a Virginia Beach girl who suffered a traumatic brain injury held a blood drive in her honor Wednesday.
Sedonia Triepel was involved in a bad crash late last year.
Sedonia Triepel
“There’s an emergency blood shortage right now in blood banks, and I know blood donations saved Sedonia's life after her accident, so we needed more to save others,” said Kiersten Hargis, Sedonia’s friend and the organizer of the event.
She said they had a great turnout.
Carrie Triepel describes her daughter as kind, encouraging to others and fierce.
She told News 3 Sedonia is expected home on September 10. She said she had surgery on her feet earlier Wednesday and continues to improve.
She said the 17-year-old attended First Colonial High School, was taking five AP courses, got straight A's, participated on the crew team, the cross country team, joined debate and was involved in her church youth group.
She said her daughter is known to be inclusive towards others and saw baking as a form of therapy.
In December 2018, Sedonia was driving near the intersection of River Road and North Great Neck Road when she T-boned with another car.
Her 13-year-old sister heard the crash, along with neighbors who came to help her.
Carrie described the intersection her mom calls problematic.
“Traffic is going way too fast. Nobody goes 45 mph,” said Carrie. “You’re really playing a real-life game of Frogger trying to cross the street.”
Carrie said her daughter has undergone more than 15 surgeries.
She said she has been receiving treatment at the Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehab facility in Atlanta.
Last week, Carrie got a call that changed everything – Sedonia's condition had improved.
Sedonia was supposed to come home from rehab within the next few days, but she now will stay at the facility for more treatment because of her improved condition, according to her mom.
She said Sedonia's condition was minimally conscious, but she now has improved to where she can answer "yes" and "no" questions consistently.
“I’m now thinking she might be able to walk before she comes home,” said Carrie. “Just overjoyed. Words cannot describe it.”
Carrie said school board member Victoria Manning spearheaded a fundraiser for their family. They are raising money for a specialized van that Sedonia will use when she comes home.
Carrie is a mother of four and a hand surgeon. She spends her time traveling back and forth to Atlanta to visit Sedonia.
“As much as I am a mom and a surgeon, I want to fix my daughter, but I can’t. I have to allow others to do it, so when I can help others, that really gives me an immense sense of satisfaction.”
She said her family is very optimistic for Sedonia and is grateful for the way the community has come together to help them.
