Jed and DeAnn Matthiesen remember it like it was yesterday.
It was January 2021. They were at home on their family farm, just outside Luverne, Minnesota. DeAnn was inside making lunch while their 4-year-old daughter, Nora, played outside. Jed was outside as well, shearing sheep and loading the wool into the tractor.
Out of nowhere, DeAnn heard a scream.
“Then Jed was at the front window yelling, ‘Nora is hurt. Nora is hurt.’”
DeAnn ran outside to find Nora on the ground and Jed calling 911.
Jill Johnson is an EMT at Sanford Health in Luverne. She heard the call come in and was among the first responders at the scene.
“We looked at the page — it said a child was run over by a tractor,” Jill said. “Your heart sinks and you think the worst.”
Today, Jed and DeAnn are sharing Nora’s incredible journey from tragedy to triumph to help raise awareness for the importance of specialized emergency care for children and to inspire support for the new David H. and Christine Billion Pediatric Emergency Department — the first of its kind in South Dakota — opening next year on the campus of the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls.
When Every Second Counts
After the 911 call, the ambulance arrived quickly and took Nora to Sanford Health in Luverne.
There, she became unresponsive. She was intubated and the decision was made to airlift her to the emergency department at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls.
DeAnn rode with Nora in the helicopter.
“I was just scared and I had all these scenarios writing in my head. Of course, I wasn’t sure if she was even going to make it. I just kept praying to God that she would.”
Emergency Care
The flight took about 15 minutes. From there, DeAnn said, things happened quickly.
“We landed on the helicopter pad and the team came out, quickly unloaded Nora and got her to the main ER. The pediatric trauma team was there. I’ve never seen so many people — each one had their own special job to do. Seeing how the surgery trauma team worked with the peds intensivists and all the nursing staff — yeah, it was amazing and very scary.”
Jed agreed. “Without them, I don’t know if our little girl would be around. They were professional and they knew exactly what to do. I am so thankful that they were there to help out and that God gave them the ability they have to do what they do every day.”
Tests revealed Nora had three skull fractures, bleeding inside the skull, swelling of the brain and injuries to her lungs, chest, liver and spleen.
Eventually, she was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Sanford Children’s Hospital. There, pediatric specialists talked with Jed and DeAnn about what needed to happen next.
“They talked to us about everything that was going on and how they needed to stabilize her,” DeAnn said. “They told us the first three days were going to be very critical and that it would be a waiting game.”
Waiting and Hoping
For Jed and DeAnn, they were the longest three days of their lives.
“It was very difficult. It’s hard to explain the waiting. She was alive, but she was in a coma. We went from having life-threatening conversations to life-altering conversations with regard to what damage the accident did to her brain and brainstem, and if, when or how she would come out of it,” DeAnn said.
Through it all, they felt the love of the Castle of Care.
“Everybody was really compassionate to not just our daughter, but also to us. The chaplain was amazing. Other families who were there dealing with their own pediatric health journeys would drop things by our door for Nora and for us — that stuck out to me. Staff would stop in and check on Nora, even if she wasn’t assigned to them. I just felt like they took really good care of her,” DeAnn said.
Nora stayed at Sanford Children’s Hospital for about two weeks — during which time Jed and DeAnn found solace in the hospital’s spiritual care services, all of which are made possible thanks to the generosity of donors. They drew strength from the pediatric chaplain and discovered hope through quiet time in the chapel.
‘A Miracle Girl’
After her time at Sanford Children’s, Nora continued with rehab to regain her strength. After about a month, she was able to return home.
Coming home “was an amazing feeling,” Jed said. “She’s a miracle girl.”
Today, Nora is a happy, healthy 8-year-old. Her parents are grateful for every moment with her.
Nora knows how lucky she is, too.
“She came home from first grade one day and said, ‘I told my friends that I’m the miracle girl but they didn’t even believe me.’”
“I said, ‘it’s okay. We know. We know. And God knows.”
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I’m so thankful that God put the right people in the right place and the Sanford team to help heal Nora. Every night in our prayers, we thank God for giving us Nora back and everything he did.
Nora’s Mom
The Right Care at the Right Time
As the Matthiesens reflect on Nora’s journey, they realize the significance of having the right care at the right time. They’re excited to see plans come together for a dedicated pediatric emergency department at the Sanford USD Medical Center, led by the generosity of David and Christine Billion.
“I think it’s important to have specialty care for kids because they’re not just small adults,” DeAnn said. “They’re different and they need that specialized care. We need people in those areas to take care of kids like Nora, and I think it’s very important.”
A pediatric emergency department is “very needed. Accidents happen. Kids get sick all the time and it’s never going to change, so we need people who can help donate to that cause,” she said.
Give for Children. Give for Good.
Be part of history and help us move the David H. and Christine Billion Pediatric Emergency Department closer to the finish line. 100% of your gift today will support:
- Lifesaving equipment and technology, including a pediatric CT scanner
- Patient support programs like child life
- Enhancements to care and more