Teen celebrates graduation in the hospital after car accident leaves him paralyzed
By Olivia Tyler
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — At the beginning of May, Brayden Harless, a senior at South Hardin High School in Eldora, was taking finals and preparing to close a major chapter in his life, until just about a week before high school graduation.
“I dozed off at the wheel, and then I crashed, like, nose-dived first, and then my car landed on all four wheels,” Harless said.
Life changed instantly. He fractured parts of his spine. Right now, he’s paralyzed from the waist down.
“It sucks I’m not gonna be able to walk normally again,” Harless said.
But Brayden’s family and the staff at MercyOne Hospital Des Moines Medical Center knew this was a milestone he couldn’t miss. So they did what caregivers do—fix what’s broken.
“It really started from this floor and the house supervisor and some of the people kinda got together, talked about it, got my team involved, and we were able to project his graduation,” said Diogenes Ayala, the public safety leader at MercyOne.
“I didn’t realize they were giving us a whole auditorium, I thought they were just gonna give us a small conference room. I was really surprised,” Harless said.
His whole extended family got to celebrate.
“Everybody was pretty emotional, because I mean, some of them, it was the first time they saw me after the accident,” Harless said.
His teacher even came to deliver his diploma.
“MercyOne made sure I was able to get that experience…they have been phenomenal here. I love them,” Harless said.
While his classmates at South Hardin High School in Eldora are reflecting on what comes next, Harless is reflecting on his uphill battle.
“The fact that I can’t take care of myself right now, the fact that I can’t have the freedom of moving around on my own is really hard on me right now,” he said.
He’s in pain. Full recovery could take months or even years. But he’s still full of potential, just like his classmates.
“Just because you don’t have control over your whole body doesn’t mean you can’t complete your dreams,” Harless said.
And nothing is going to stop Brayden from his.
“I plan on being a social worker, and I may not be able to walk around with them, but I’ll sure as heck be able to wheel around with them,” Harless said.
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