The odds were against Ashley Davis surviving at all after the all-terrain vehicle she was riding on struck a tree in 2009.
She went into cardiac arrest more than once. She had broken bones in her face, ribs and skull, two broken vertebrae, and bruising on her heart, lungs and liver. She had to have her spleen removed and underwent brain surgery to relieve pressure caused by a blood clot.
When it appeared she would die, the UF Health TraumaOne team came up with one more possibility: they brought in a special ventilator from Orlando.
Unbelievably, Davis survived. The odds were that she would have brain damage, and she probably wouldn’t walk again.
But Davis, who was the 2011 A Night for Heroes gala honoree, clearly wasn’t the type to be stopped by odds. Four and a half years since her accident, she’s teaching second grade and not just walking, she’s running.
“I could have been in a wheelchair the rest of my life, but I’ve recovered far beyond what anyone expected,” Davis said.
As she slowly progressed from a wheelchair to a walker to walking independently, Davis thought about her future.
“I wondered, one day when I have kids, will I ever be able to run around and play with them? I decided to try to run, not because I enjoy running – because I don’t – but to prove that I can do it.”
Davis was a 21-year-old college student at the time of her crash. Now the Macclenny native is in her third year of teaching school in her hometown. In fact, the Baker County elementary school where she works is the same school she attended as a child.
“I’ve had really sweet kids. I always seem to get the ones that love to talk and socialize.”
Except for a small scar on her neck, Ashley says people could look at her and never know how close she came to death. Sometimes she is asked about that one visible scar, and it doesn’t bother her at all.
“I see it as a window of opportunity for me to open up and tell people about what happened to me and to be able to witness to them,” she said.
During her recovery, Davis’s parents, Larry and Sharon, relied on their strong faith in God. Now their daughter is sharing her faith as part of her miraculous story.
“I know there were times that it seemed so bad, there was no way I could pull through. But the people that took care of me didn’t settle for that,” Davis said. “They had faith. They could only do so much, and then they had to let God take over.”
She said the TraumaOne team was extremely supportive not only of her, but of her family.
Davis plans to continue setting and conquering goals.
“I feel like I can push myself even further,” she said. Here is the video made of Ashley and her family for the 2011 A Night for Heroes gala:
This story is an installment in our “Where are they now?” series of updates on some of our best- known patients from years past. You can read the rest of our updates by clicking on any one of the links below:
Patient goes from fractured skull to swimming pools and roller coasters
Little boy in four-wheeler crash now a 6-foot-4 hunting enthusiast
Patient who couldn’t open eyes or speak is back to outdoorsy lifestyle