Mary Free Bed doctor calls Ella Merrill's recovery from TBI 'one of most impressive' he's seen

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When Ella Merrill came to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital on Dec. 29, the 16-year-old from Edwardsburg, Michigan, was in a coma. Two weeks earlier, she sustained a traumatic brain injury when the car she was driving struck a school bus on an icy roadway.

An MRI showed damage to Ella’s brain was worse than originally thought, leading doctors to believe she may remain in a vegetative state. Arrangements were made to teach her parents how to care for Ella at home.

Then she woke up.

Ella slowly began to regain consciousness, at first crying or laughing, or making small movements. “Then one morning, as we were getting her dressed, she looked at me and said ‘I miss Sally,’” said her mother, Heather Zile. Sally is Ella’s dog. “She’s been on an upward trajectory ever since."

Ninety days after her accident, Ella walked out of Mary Free Bed with her parents and headed home to her family – and to cuddle with Sally.

In this video, you’ll learn more about Ella’s journey from Heather, her nurses, therapists and doctors – one of whom Ella challenged to a game of tennis, all for a container of “extra crispy” bacon. #AskForMary