ORANGE PARK, Fla. – HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital held its annual tribute to trauma survivors on Wednesday.
Patients, nurses, doctors, community leaders, family members and other caregivers heard first-hand how the medical experts helped each survivor build their life back after unexpected events. And their stories are nothing short of a miracle.
JR Rodriguez, who was badly injured in a motorcycle crash one year ago almost to the day, spoke at the event. Rodriguez stayed 47 days in the hospital, followed by three weeks in outpatient acute rehab.
“Thank God for them, they taught me how to stand up, they taught me how to walk,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the reason I’m not walking perfectly, but I’m walking, you know?”
He said he’s so thankful for the determination of the hospital staff who cared for him who, at times, never get to hear those words.
“There’s such a thing called Post Traumatic Growth and it’s where they are having these ‘aha’ moments where they better understand themselves, the world they live in, the people, how they relate to other people, how they decide they want to move through life, and the meaning they make from what they experience — that is rewarding for me,” Benetta Wholuba, a Licensed Psychologist for Trauma Services, said.
The event reunited health professionals with the patients with traumatic injuries they helped.
“I lost most of my memory — I’m trying to remember, I’m trying to speak everything I remember,” Rodriguez said.
By openly reflecting on their struggle to survive — and sharing their stories — hospital patients, past and present, celebrated their triumphs while encouraging those credited with saving their lives.
“Knowing that something that could have torn them apart, is actually something they use to build themselves up; that is a privilege to watch,” Wholuba said.
Doctors said it’s important for people who experience traumatic events to talk to someone about what happened and get support from others.