Gracie Rich
Gracie, 7, was accidentally hit by a UTV while riding her e-bike, leading to emergency care and surgery at Timpanogos Regional Hospital. Play therapy helped her heal emotionally.
On any given afternoon, flocks of children run rampantly around Rikki Rich’s neighborhood. It’s a major perk of living in their tight-knit community, but it also comes with inherent risks. And while adults keep a vigilant lookout to ensure the children’s safety, accidents happen.
Rikki knows that all too well. Recently, Rikki’s 7-year-old twin girls were playing amongst a slew of neighborhood kids on a sunny Sunday when she heard a knock no parent wants to hear.
“It wasn’t a normal neighborly knock. It wasn’t a kid at the door. We knew right away something was wrong,” Rikki said.
Rikki and her husband, Laramy, raced outside to find their daughter Gracie sprawled on the pavement. One adult neighbor protected her neck while others wrapped Gracie’s mangled leg in a towel, applying pressure. Someone else called 911.
Rikki soon learned that a neighbor had given his grandchildren a rowdy ride on a utility terrain vehicle (UTV). After coming to a stop, the grandfather started forward again, but he missed seeing Gracie approaching on her electric bike. The UTV hit little Gracie straight on. Not knowing what he hit, the driver then backed up, smashing Gracie once again.
“It happened so fast, and it could have happened to anybody,” Rikki said. “The whole neighborhood, all the neighbor kids, saw it and experienced it as a community. It was traumatic for everyone.”
The UTV pulled a softball-sized patch of skin off Gracie’s right leg, exposing tendons and muscles. She also could see exposed bone on the inside of her right foot. Plus, because Gracie didn’t have a helmet on at the time of the accident, everyone was concerned about her head, neck and spine.
Mountain View Hospital: Poised and ready
When emergency medical teams arrived, they placed Gracie in an ambulance and headed toward Mountain View Hospital – a facility just 5 minutes from their Payson home and the same hospital Rikki works at as a nurse on the detox/psych unit.
“They were so amazing with her! They started an IV in the ambulance, and they taught her to inhale medicine through the nose. They explained things on her level. Like they said, ‘You know how you smell the flowers when you’re outside? That’s what you do here too.’” Rikki said.
Mountain View’s Emergency Room team stood poised and ready for Gracie’s arrival. They quickly assessed her from head to toe and gathered images to see the extent of Gracie’s injuries. Thankfully, Gracie’s head, neck and spine were not hurt, and she didn’t have any broken bones. However, she did need intense surgical repair of her leg wounds.
“The doctor said that he spoke with a surgeon at Timpanogos Regional Hospital, and I was kind of surprised. I had no idea Timpanogos had a pediatrics unit! It ended up being the best place for us,” Rikki said.
Timpanogos Regional Hospital Pediatrics: Special treatment for every special patient
At Timpanogos Regional Hospital, Gracie underwent surgery to thoroughly clean, suture and protect her wounds from infection. She also received a steady stream of IV antibiotics and a wound vacuum (also known as negative pressure wound therapy) that uses suction to assist with wound healing.
In addition to attentive medical treatments, Rikki said Gracie greatly benefited from the compassionate nursing staff, hands-on playroom and wise child life specialists.
“There was a lot of play therapy – which is so important! Like the child life specialist brought a doll for Gracie and let her start an IV on the doll and change its bandages. We were so impressed,” Rikki said.
After four nights at the hospital, it was time for Gracie to continue her healing at home.
“Gracie was treated like royalty at Timpanogos, so much so, she didn’t want to come home,” Rikki said. “We loved it, and she loved it as much as she could while being immobile.”
A patient with a purpose: Spreading safety
A large banner stretched across the garage welcomed Gracie home. It read, “We love you, Gracie!” and had messages written all over it.
Rikki says she can tell the accident impacted and united their whole neighborhood, and she sees that as a good thing. In fact, Rikki and Gracie hope to use their personal experience to teach others about bike safety. For example, Gracie and her twin sister Mayzie want to help plan a special bike safety training at their elementary school, which could showcase safety skills and share Gracie’s story of healing.
“I just want to give back, and I want this to be a good story,” Rikki said. “Life is full of learning opportunities, and this is something she can do to help. … In the ambulance, when the EMTs asked her if she was wearing a helmet, she broke down and said, “No, I wasn’t – but I promise I’ll wear it next time!” She’ll wear it and she can teach others to wear theirs too.”