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Teen returns home to heal from crash during Indiana State Fair

TRAFALGAR, Ind. (WISH) — In a lesson of perseverance and healing, a Trafalgar teenager is finally home after a serious crash in early August that almost took her life and injured two other teens.

The crash happened on I-65 when Megan Murray and two of her friends were on their way to show cattle at the Indiana State Fair.

Murray spent 98 days between four different hospitals. She had the most severe injuries of the three girls involved in the crash. Despite all of the reasons Megan could have given for the negative situation she found herself in, she pushed through with positivity and now is reunited with her entire family for the first time in more than three months.

The last time Murray pulled into her Trafalgar driveway, the leaves were still green. Now, she is a year older and lifetime wiser.

“I have had a couple hard days where I have been like, all right, I just want to leave and I want to go home,” said the 18-year-old woman.

After the crash that ejected Megan from the truck on I-65, she suffered a long list of injuries including a broken leg, pelvis, ribs and fingers; a fractured and dislocated elbow; and a brain bleed and other internal injuries. She needed about 10 surgeries and 45 units of blood over the next 98 days.

Photo courtesy: Michelle Murray

“When I finally asked the question of why am I in the hospital I was told I was in a car wreck. But, funny story, I thought I was in a car wreck with my dad and I that were in a car wreck and so I didn’t find out until a little bit after that that it was all of us,” Murray said.

Her memory stops the day before the crash on Aug 2 and picks back up halfway through September. However, her mom, Michelle Murray, remembers every second of what became her worst nightmare.

“Early on, I was trying to prepare myself for everything, trying to prepare myself for if she didn’t come home. That was really hard,” Michelle Murray said.

Photo courtesy: Michelle Murray

While Megan’s progress has been nothing short of a miracle, the road to recovery has not been easy.

“The next several weeks was full of ups and downs, and the unknown still. It probably wasn’t until Week 7 when they started to bring her off of all the sedation medicines that we realized that ‘OK, I think we have kind of gotten over most of the big hurdles,’” Michelle Murray said of her daughter.

Photo courtesy: Michelle Murray

Despite having every reason to fall into negativity, Megan Murray has fought tooth and nail to heal and somehow found a way to stay positive.

“Because I know from negative I won’t get any better, and I can’t afford to not get better,” Megan Murray said.

Now, the 18-year-old can mostly get around on her own with the help of a walker while she continues therapy to rebuild her strength; she only needs a wheelchair if she will be on her feet for long periods of time.

“I prayed every day, every hour, sometimes every minute of every hour, and He answered them for us,” Michelle Murray said.

“My perspective on life has changed a lot. It is one minute, you are here, and the next minute, you could be gone, and I lived that,” Megan Murray said.

The high schooler still needs two surgeries to remove her gallbladder and to remove screws from her elbow. She isn’t letting this injury slow down her goals. In addition to continuing to heal, Megan Murray still plans to graduate in May with her class and has hopes of attending her dream school of Texas A&M in the fall.

On Saturday, a dinner benefitting Megan will be at the Johnson County Shrine Club from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance at J&L Feed or the Johnson County Shrine Club. Cost is $10 per adult, and $6 per child 6 and younger. The event will have door prizes, 50/50 raffles, and a silent auction.