Senior Della Simonson is back in the game after a tragic accident last year.

On May 22, Simonson was struck by a car during a walk home after school. This caused numerous injuries including road burn, lacerations, a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder, several facial fractures, and damage to the left hemisphere of her brain.

Simonson reported later that the accident didn’t seem real to her at first.

“It was all like a dream,” Simonson said.

After spending many weeks in St. Luke’s emergency room, Simonson was transferred to Essentia Health to recover. She went home after a full month in the hospital, but she had to attend frequent therapy sessions for her left hemisphere functions.

“I had to go to those [therapy sessions] to regain… mental strengths that I had before,” Simonson said.

Simonson was not able to return to school for the rest of her junior year, however, Simonson returned two weeks into her senior year. Despite not completing some of her junior classes, she can still graduate on time.

“My teachers were able to keep my grades the way they were and made them final,” Simonson said.

Simonson now continues to participate in activities and clubs that she enjoys, such as the Word, Card, and Board Games Club during Lunch and Learn. She is also getting back into reading and writing for English classes, something she missed during her time away from school.

Simonson has since recovered from her accident and is happy to be back at school.