Trauma survivors return to Sanford hospital to thank medical teams

SANFORD, Fla. — A woman who had to cling to life after a horrific crash on I-4 in January returned to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford to thank the medical teams that saved her. 
 
Payton Moose said she had nine internal bleeds, a collapsed lung and several broken ribs. 
 
Moose was trapped in her car for hours, unaware her two friends with her had been killed. She was rushed to the trauma center at CFRH. 
 
"I got here 20 minutes after she got here. She crashed right in front of us, and we had to sit there and watch as they rushed her to surgery," Bill Rodriguez, Moose's father, said. 
 
More than 400 survivors have come through the trauma unit since it opened a year ago. Before it was opened, the closest center for anyone in Seminole County or west Volusia County was 25 miles away. 

"Access to care is key. How fast can you get that care?" trauma medical director Alex Evans said. 
 
Central Florida has six trauma centers, now that the Sanford hospital has opened.
 
"Not only are we alive but we're walking, talking and leading fulfilled lives. I just want to keep you in my prayers and say thank you so much," said a mother who, along with her daughter, was in a crash with a semitruck.
 
The ceremony was held in honor of National Trauma Survivors Day. Another ceremony is planned at Osceola Regional Medical Center. 

Cox Media Group