Students rally around injured classmate

MOSES LAKE - Students at Chief Moses Middle School have an added reason to cheer this Christmas season.

They are thrilled that a fellow classmate is able to return to school after being in Spokane hospitals for the last few months.

Sixth-grader Stephanie O'Campo was in a very serious automobile accident Nov. 3, breaking her neck in two places along with other broken bones.

Sixth-graders wrote cards and gave small gifts and get-well letters delivered by Stephanie's teachers as she recuperated from her surgeries and extensive physical rehabilitation.

"I gave Stephanie a soft blanket because I know what it felt like to be in the hospital and I wanted her to feel better," stated Ellie Tormozov.

Besides making snowflakes for her hospital room, students translated between the teachers and Stephanie's parents.

"When we wanted to check in on Stephanie, I helped by speaking Spanish to Stephanie's parents and then translating for the class and my teacher," said Stephanie Morales.

Checking on Stephanie became a group activity. Students would fill a large envelope with notes and cards that were then delivered to Stephanie when her sixth-grade teachers worked with her on her school work.

Stephanie worked to stay up on her studies while at St. Luke's Rehabilitation Hospital. She not only did her physical therapy sessions, she continued working on the units being studied at the middle school. While Stephanie built a model of a flowering plant with her science teacher, her nurse went from room to room until she found a patient's flower to help with the lesson. The novel being discussed in Language Arts class was discussed with her teacher while eating pumpkin pie in the hospital cafeteria on Thanksgiving Day.

Stephanie's family has supported her since her accident and appreciated all the support from the staff and students at Chief Moses.

"I'm glad that she is back at school," said Stephanie's classmate Randy Johnson. "It's a reason to celebrate!"