LOUIE'S PRIDE
I N S I DE LO PER AT HLET ICS
Three years after near-fatal crash, Preston Hall returns to ICU as registered nurse By TYLER ELLYSON - UNK Communications
Preston Hall was returning from a weekend trip to Valentine when his southbound Ford Fusion and a northbound motor home collided on U.S. Highway 83 near Thedford in summer 2018. (Courtesy photo) Preston Hall already knew he wanted to work in health care when he started classes at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Simply put, he wants to help people. That decision took on greater meaning in summer 2018, when he was the one in need of lifesaving care. Then a junior at UNK, Hall was returning from a weekend trip to Valentine when his southbound Ford Fusion and a northbound motor home collided on U.S. Highway 83 near Thedford. The head-on crash crumpled his four-door sedan like a soda can, trapping the 20-year-old Loper football player inside.
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To this day, he has no memory of the accident or the ensuing few days. “The last thing I remember was taking a shower that morning,” said Hall, who is lucky to be alive. He was transported by medical helicopter to CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney, then the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he spent five days in the trauma intensive care unit. The Schuyler native suffered life-threatening internal injuries, as well as a broken pelvis, numerous broken ribs and extensive damage to his left leg. He was hospitalized at UNMC for a total of 19 days, followed by another two weeks at Madonna
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