Jenks Teen Home After 4 Months In Hospital Following Deadly Purcell Crash

<p>A Jenks teen will sleep at home tonight after spending four months in the hospital.</p>

Tuesday, November 21st 2017, 10:50 pm



Home sweet home. 

A Jenks teen will sleep at home tonight after spending four months in the hospital.

Izzy Kitterman went in on a ventilator in July, but can now breathe and eat on her own.

All after a horrific crash that killed four people in Purcell, including her brother and stepsister. 

Kitterman's classmates got out at Jenks Middle School just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, rushing to Kitterman's neighborhood.

10/16/2017 Related Story: Tulsa Teen Injured In Deadly Purcell Crash Visits Home

It was a homecoming celebration friends and family had anxiously awaited.

Lauren Vanhorn, 13, was in the SUV when her mother slammed into the back of a semi.

"It was the scariest thing I've ever been through in my whole life," Vanhorn said. "Every day feels like forever."

Vanhorn's mother and 10-year-old brother were killed in the crash, and she spent two weeks in the hospital recovering in a body cast.

"It was on my back and my chest and my left thigh. And I was in two boots and I couldn't walk for awhile," she said.

One of her best friends — Kitterman — broke her neck and bones in her back.

Kitterman was on a feeding tube for months after having surgery on her lungs.

"I mean it's really hard, losing my other best friend, and not being able to see Izzy and talk to her about it is really hard. So it'll be good to see her and talk to her about that," Vanhorn said.

You couldn't miss the giant glittering letters in Kitterman's yard, or the handmande signs, balloons and cheering from friends who lined the street as she pulled into the driveway.

Kitterman is defying the odds, doctors say — off a ventilator and back home just in time for the holidays.

"I know how it felt for me. It was really great to feel like, to be home and like have all my friends there so I know it'll be like a good warm welcome for her," Vanhorn said.

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