Tulsa Teen Crushed By Concrete Column On Road To Recovery

A young woman, seriously injured in an accident at Edison High School is, for the first time, talking about her recovery.

A concrete column fell over and crushed 18-year-old Morgan Gamble. She's had extensive medical care over the last three weeks and remains in the hospital.

Right after the accident, she had substantial blood loss, multiple broken bones, and internal injuries. But this week, she reached a milestone in what's going to be a very long recovery.

Morgan Gamble's time in the hospital ends soon, but she's not by a longshot done recovering.

She's had eight surgeries, and after getting the last staples and stitches out, she's focused on therapy to regain use of her legs.

“So, just teaching me little things like that, growing the muscles so I'll be able to move my legs by myself,” she said.

Morgan's mother, Andrea, said her athletic training through Edison Pom is helping with her strength, and her faith is helping with the situation.

Andrea said, “So she came in with strength and a sense of determination like I've never seen before.”

The accident happened when Morgan and a friend put up a hammock between two columns in a courtyard at Edison. As they sat down, one of the columns fell across Morgan's lap.

4/28/2016 Related Story: Friend Ran For Help When Concrete Pillar Crushed Edison Student

There are other columns in the courtyard, but Tulsa Public Schools plans to remove them all this summer.

The one that fell, by one estimate, weighs more than two tons.

4/28/2016 Related Story: TPS To Remove Concrete Pillars After Edison Student Crushed

Despite the injury, Morgan made it to graduation Wednesday with her classmates - her first trip outside the hospital.

The crowd gave her a standing ovation as she wheeled across the stage.

She's about to transition into a rehab center next week, still planning to attend OU in the fall.

"I'm very confident about the future and what's going to happen. I'm not worried, and I'm very optimistic about it," Morgan said.

“And we're just going to be right behind her trying to make that happen, but it's a long journey with as much injury as she's had,” Andrea said.

Morgan said, “It's incredible to see how willing to help people can be and how generous people are, even people that don't know me.”

Friends have set up a GoFundMe account to help with the expenses that will continue for years.