IRVING, Texas — A teen visiting Texas from Portland, Oregon, is making a miracle recovery at Parkland Hospital in Dallas after she was thrown from a vehicle during a violent car crash at the end of August.
The family of 19-year-old Bailey St. Clair is now raising money for medical expenses, a large chunk of which may go toward transferring her to another hospital closer to home.
After her accident, the Irving Police Department told WFAA the teen wasn't expected to survive.
St. Clair was visiting Dallas with a friend from Portland in late August when the pair were involved in a car crash along westbound SH-183, just east of the highway's split with Texas 114.
Police said the vehicle lost control and slid into another car; St. Clair was ejected from her seat and hit the pavement of the highway.
The vehicle then hit a barrier on the left side of the highway, spun across the lanes and hit a barrier on the right side.
The driver, the person St. Clair was with, was arrested for intoxication assault.
Almost a month later, St. Clair is proving many wrong, but not without sacrifice. She's undergone multiple surgeries for broken bones on her left side and had a brain bleed, and her road rash was so significant that she had to be treated in the Burn Intensive Care Unit at Parkland.
She's now out of intensive care and is working on recovering. Her mother, Brenda Arms, has had to move to Texas to care for her daughter practically.
"I had to pause and just say that no matter what I walk into, this is my daughter, and thank God she's alive," Arms said. "Give your babies a hug and kiss because life is fragile and can be taken away very quickly."
"We've had trauma teams, ortho teams, plastic surgery teams working with her over the last four weeks. I've had doctors and nurses start to cry and say what a miracle she survived based on how the accident happened," she said.
Still, St. Clair has a long way to go, recovery and rehab-wise.
That process would likely be much easier back in her home state of Oregon, but if you've ever tried to secure a hospital transfer, it's not easy.
Both hospitals involved have to agree, and even then--transportation isn't always covered. An air ambulance, per Arms, anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 she was told.
"One quote we got was almost $59,000" Arms said. "We are anxiously awaiting to get back home to start her recovery. She will need extensive rehabilitation for weeks or months, even longer than that, we don't know yet."
St. Clair didn't interview with WFAA but did provide a statement that read in part:
"I feel very fortunate that the crash occurred only 10 minutes away from this hospital, as well as the fact not only am I alive, but I survived. However, I'm extremely homesick. I miss my family my friends. So, dearly, if it's not too much to ask for, I can only hope that people will help me with the GoFundMe. This will help dearly with my current medical future, medical future legal, and rehabilitation needs."
Arms told WFAA she's glad her daughter gets another day after what happened.
"It's going to be a long road for recovery for my daughter, and that's okay because I'm just so glad I didn't lose her," she said.