Last year, we shared with you the story of then 17-year-old, Kennedy Reeves.
The teen had to be at school early one December morning. As she was crossing the road from the Peoples Bank Stadium parking lot to Frenship High School, she was struck by a truck. The man who hit her immediately rushed to help, and she was treated at UMC for her injuries. None of which Kennedy remembers.
“I don’t remember anything from the day of the accident until about a month later. I don’t remember like UMC or the worst part of it really,” said Kennedy, who also says she experiences short-term memory loss from the accident on occasion.
She was in a medically induced coma for a week following the accident and then taken to a rehab facility in Denver where her long road to recovery continued further. She and her family received a great outpour of support from friends, family and community members as she began to make great strides in her recovery process. One of her greatest achievements in her comeback: returning to the stage.
“To see how she is now is just a miracle. I really think it is, I mean she’s not supposed to be here much less doing what she’s doing,” said her mother, Christy Reeves.
Growing up, she had participated in several plays and musicals and admired Broadway stars, hoping to someday mirror their poise and talent.
Today, those dreams are beginning to seem more in reach. The now 18-year-old is healthy and full of life as she’s preparing to attend Pace University in New York this upcoming fall to continue living out her dream as an artist and a performer.
“Well you never know why things happen, but I feel like Kennedy is mean to be in New York,” said her mother, excited for her daughter’s future. “She is meant to be on Broadway and to do whatever God has in store for her. I think she will do it and going through this experience will give her the strength and determination to do it better than she ever would have before.”
Karla McNeill, owner of the Dance Gallery in Lubbock as well as Kennedy’s longtime dance instructor, also expects nothing less from her driven student, “I’m already counting the days when I get to go to Broadway and sit on the front row and watch Miss Kennedy Reeves.”
“I’m just so excited for it,” says Kennedy. “I can’t believe that I’m actually going to be living in New York and doing the dream of my life!”
