In the face of unspeakable tragedy, it's always helpful to have something to look forward to. An 11-year-old girl was involved in a car crash in July with her father and two older siblings. Their car veered off the road, and her father, older sister, and older brother were pronounced dead at the scene, leaving her the sole survivor.
It has been a long few weeks of recovery for the girl, but her story has touched a lot of hearts. As a way to give her a bright spot in what is obviously an incredibly overwhelming and emotional time, a nonprofit organization is sending Aubrey Bogacki to see her favorite singer, Taylor Swift.
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The crash was an unthinkable tragedy.
Aubrey Bogacki has been through a lot since the crash that claimed the lives of her father Nathan, her sister Emma, and brother Grant. When the crash first happened, Aubrey was expected to spend "months" in the hospital recovering from her injuries, which included a broken arm, collapsed lung, and multiple neck injuries.
"Aubrey is a fighter," her uncle, David Syka, told local NBC News affiliate WFMJ. "She is going to make it out of this. It is going to be a long process from here but she is going to pull through."
Aubrey defied the odds and was released from the hospital sooner than expected.
Less than three weeks after the accident, Aubrey was healed enough to be released from the hospital. According to news affiliate WPXI, some of Aubrey's other injuries were neck fractures and a brain bleed. They called her recovery "miraculous."
"The recovery has been very quick, like I said, we went from not knowing she was ever going to survive, to not knowing if she was ever going to walk to 20 days later she’s walking and she’s coming home," her aunt, Amy Hepak, told the news station.
After her release from the hospital, Aubrey spoke about her ordeal.
Aubrey and her mother, Nicole Bogacki, spoke with WFMJ about the whirlwind of the last few weeks of their lives.
"She progressed so quickly and she fought so hard and never gave up and pushed herself and where she's at today, is unbelievably amazing," Nicole said.
"I'm sad and happy at the same time," Aubrey said of the experience. "Sad what I went through and happy from all the support behind me."
Since the crash, the Bogackis have received an overwhelming amount of support from their community. A GoFundMe was created, which has raised over $175,000. People have also arranged meals and charity events for the family.
A local nonprofit is making one of Aubrey's dreams come true.
Jamie's Dream Team, a nonprofit organization in Pennsylvania, where the Bogackis live, is coming through in a big way for Aubrey and her mom — they're getting her tickets to see her favorite singer, Taylor Swift.
"Anything, like I said, that will bring a smile to her and her mom, just because I know that going into those holidays are gonna be rough," Jamie's Dream Team founder, Jamie Ward, told local CBS affiliate KDKA. "Aubrey is strong, and she deserves whatever she wants or what anybody can give her."
Aubrey and her mom will be attending Taylor's November concert in Indianapolis.
"I just want Taylor Swift to please meet with this girl when she’s in Indianapolis, or give her her hat, do something. Make her know that she is loved by somebody that she loves," Ward told WPXI.
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Right now, Aubrey and her mom are focused on healing and moving forward.
"It feels amazing," Nicole told WFMJ. "I could never imagine the amount of support from family, friends, the community, softball teams that have done amazing things for her, fundraising, the support is just outpouring from everywhere and I truly believe all the support and prayers has helped Aubrey to get where she's at today."
And Aubrey is simply focusing on getting back to the thing she loves to do: softball. "I wanna start going back on the field for softball and that's my goal," she said.
