A woman whose family owns the popular South Florida restaurant chain Flanigan's shared her story of survival after she suffered a major head injury during an accident in the Bahamas.
During the summer, 23-year-old Anne Flanigan fell off an embankment with her bike in Walker's Cay in the Bahamas. Photos showed her with major injuries to the face and head.
Fortunately, on a nearby island, there was a nurse anesthetist who coincidentally worked at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach. He was able to keep her alive until the Coast Guard helicopter arrived.
"The odds of this happening this night with those people there to help me is beyond a miracle," Flanigan said.
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Flanigan reunited with the rescuers on Thursday who helped her that night.
“We had zero lights on the island, but people were smart enough and thinking ahead to coordinate circling up some, I remember, golf carts and tractors, any machinery that had a light was circled, illuminating the landing area for us which was super helpful," said Landon Klopfenstein, a Coast Guard pilot
The Coast Guard helicopter flew Flanigan to St. Mary’s, where everything was ready to receive her.
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“We had everything ready because the nurse anesthetist had called and as soon as she arrived, we took her to the ER very quickly, where we removed a blood clog from her brain," trauma director Dr. Roberto Borrego said.
Less than six months after this accident, Flanigan is forever grateful to everyone who was involved in saving her life
"I just fully think it was the moons and the stars aligned and everything that went my way," she said. "I’ll just try to be a better person, every day thankful, and live my life with grace and that’s all I can do."
Flanigan will continue to recover here in South Florida, however, she hopes to return to her life in the Bahamas.
