Dr. Alan Graham, one of the doctors who saw to Addi's recovery. Addi and her mother, Katie.
and sat with Jeff and Katie during the surgery. “So here she was, this mother grieving her own son and was standing in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit holding someone’s hand who she’d just met,” Katie recalled. Amber was glad to offer her support. “To have their family almost immediately experience a tragedy after ours, that connection was built,” Amber said. “I reached out to them in a similar manner that they’d reached out to me. “It was this very organic, natural connection that I feel God helped provide for the both of us.” The shared experience cemented the bond between the two families. “We had no idea whether she’d
community caught the Sandells’ attention when Trey Liermann, the son of City Councilmember Amber Liermann, passed away at age 15. “We heard about it and decided to reach out personally to Amber and her family,” Katie said. “Jeff and I were overwhelmed with how it must feel to lose a child.” Amber was thankful for the Sandells. “They reached out to our family in such a difficult time in such a loving and consistent way,” Amber said. “When I say consistent, I don’t mean that they just called and said, ‘so sorry for your loss.’” Over the next few weeks, Katie
Getting to the point where such a surgery would be possible in the first place was a challenge, Katie explained. The first hurdle came in the three days after the accident, where Addi’s goal was just to survive while under the supervision of staff at Banner Children’s at Desert Hospital. “They told us that the first 72 hours after a severe traumatic brain injury is the red zone,” Katie said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. You’re watching all the numbers. You’re watching every movement. You’re watching everything. We didn’t know if she was going to make it past that first 72 hours. It was step by step.” The day after surgery, the doctors contemplated how they were going to take Addi off life support and whether she would be able to breathe on her own. The doctors warned the Sandells that it might take a few tries. But Addi wasn’t even waiting for the first. “Within minutes of them telling us, she started trying to breathe over the life support machine,” Katie said. “There were no problems, they pulled the tube, and she was breathing just fine on her own.” In all, Addi spent nearly six weeks at the hospital. Aside from the TBI and a broken neck, Addi also suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs. Addi’s body was broken, but her indomitable spirit remained intact. A friend in time of need A month before Addi’s accident, a tragedy in the
talked to Amber daily and the Sandells often visited the Liermanns. Sometimes, it was only to bring dinner, others it was to offer words of encouragement and comfort. A bond formed, especially between Amber and Katie. Little did the two know that one day in the very near future, the shoe would be on the other foot.
survive,” Amber said. “I think the reality of her parents understanding what we’d been through pretty intimately and really knowing the gravity of loss and for them to find themselves in the same situation we were in a month earlier. “They’d been there for us when we
Amber Liermann
were going through some dark, dark times.” To offer a friend comfort during their time in need was therapeutic for Amber. “It’s just been such a journey of healing, faith and joy to watch Addi’s recovery,” Amber said. “It’s such an unimaginable place to be in life and as a parent and so to help any other parent facing a tragedy is all I can ask for.” Amber and Katie still talk every day, even if it’s only by text. “We message each other all hours and the day and night,” Amber said.
When Amber heard about Addi’s dire condition on that fateful December day, she reached out to Katie and asked if she could come to the hospital to be with the family, which surprised Katie to some degree. “I was still worried about Amber,” Katie said. “Her loss was still so recent, and I was concerned that the situation with Addi might be too much for her to handle.” Nonetheless, Amber stayed with Addi, praying and singing for the girl for two hours
February 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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