EDMONTON -- A Fort Saskatchewan teen who survived a crash that killed two friends in September got quite the surprise when she returned home from the Glenrose Hospital on Saturday morning.
Her community rallied together to give the teen a new space to recover in.
“Half my body was broken and I have a bit of a brain injury, but I still keep pushing through it. I’ve been doing school and doing my physio,” said Morgan Maltby.
Its that positive attitude that led the teen to be selected for the Holiday Home and Hearts room makeover.
“From the day that we said Maltby was selected up until the very last day we were building her room, we had donations coming in so we couldn’t have been able to do all this without the help of everybody,” said Ashley Rosenow of Illustrious Interiors.
Maltby knew she had been selected, but was completely surprised by the transformation.
“Big difference. Like completely different like this doesn’t even look like the same room I had before,” she said.
“They put so much time and effort in such a short period of time. They did everything they can so quickly and it’s crazy. I was not expecting this.”
“I’m very thankful that they were able to choose her and do this for her because she truly needs a fresh start and something wonderful in her life right now,” said Maltby’s mother Cheryl Sutherland.
“Especially after all the hardships and stuff she's gone through, it makes it completely worth it,” Rosenow said.
But this memory wall is what touched the teen most. It includes photos of Maltby with her boyfriend Keithan Peters and best friend Alex Ollington.
The trio were in an SUV that was hit by a pickup truck in September. The driver of the truck has been charged with impaired driving related offences. Keithan and Alex did not survive the crash.
“I honestly think my memory wall for Keithan and Alex is my favourite part to have them in here with me,” Maltby said.
She will get to enjoy her new room over the holidays, but will have to return to hospital for a few more months of treatment after that.
“It’ll be hard to get her back to the hospital that’s for sure!” Sutherland said.
“It’s been really hard, but this has helped because it gave me something to look forward to and put a smile on my face. I’m so happy about that,” she said.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson.
