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ST. GEORGE — Nearly six months after an ATV crash left him in a coma, 16-year-old Britton Shipp walked out of the hospital on Friday, surrounded by family members who had longed to see him come home for good.
Britton can now walk, talk, eat on his own and perform other day-to-day functions his loved ones could only dream of him doing after the ATV he was driving on a Sadie Hawkins date hydroplaned and crashed Nov. 1.
Britton's sister, who has helped to document the Santa Clara boy’s recovery online, is calling Friday the best day of her family's life together.
“It’s the day that I prayed for and prayed for and hoped for will all my heart,” said Autumn Shipp. "I can’t think of a better feeling … to get to take him home and be normal again and get back to our normal routine, hopefully.”
Britton will still require several appointments per week for speech, physical and occupational therapy. But he was exuberant Friday when asked what it felt like to leave for home.
"I think everyone’s awesome, they’re way awesome, and they continue to be awesome,” Britton said.
He also said the opportunity to throw out the first pitch of a Washington Little League series game on March 23 was “the best moment of my life.”
Britton’s recovery from his coma was gradual, said Dr. Rusty Moore, medical director of the Neuro Rehab Center at Dixie Regional Medical Center.
“It would be really hard to put a date or a time where it was like, 'Oh, this was a wake-up moment.' He really just made this really nice, smooth transition, a little bit at a time becoming more and more aware,” Moore said.
Britton’s father, Jesse Shipp, said he is filled with pride at his son’s recovery.
It's the day that I prayed for and prayed for and hoped for will all my heart. I can't think of a better feeling … to get to take him home and be normal again and get back to our normal routine, hopefully.
–Autumn Shipp
"I mean there’s not a day goes by I haven’t been with him that I just tell him how proud I am of him, and he tells me back how proud he is of me — and that’s not even fair," he said. "There’s no end … to his recovery, I don’t think.”
Autumn Shipp, who gave up a season playing softball at the University of Utah to move closer to her brother, said her family’s LDS faith has carried them through Britton’s recovery process.
“(Britton) said, 'How did you know that it would be OK?’ (His question) just took me back to that day that I remember, walking out of those doors after I had just seen my brother in the worst state you could possibly imagine somebody being in,” she said. "I remember the feeling that I had, and looking at it now, it has not left me the entire time."
Jesse Shipp said his son has the same sense of humor and is still drawn to his favorite music and sports the way he was before the crash. Britton’s family has high hopes for his continuing recovery.
"When he looks in the mirror, he wants to be the guy that looked in the mirror in October, and he wants to be the guy driving his Toyota 4Runner, and he wants to be the guy hanging out with his buddies,” Jesse Shipp said. “I want him to have that, too.”
Contributing: Stace Hall Email: blockhart@deseretnews.com Twitter: @benlockhartnews
