A girl injured in a quad accident meets with the nurse who has planned a surprise prom at the hospital.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – An Iowa girl who was seriously injured in an ATV accident received a special surprise from her nurse.

When she got to the hospital, they had a special bond; the nurse made every effort to ensure that the teenager did not miss an important opportunity.

“I didn’t think I’d be walking through the halls like that again,” said Grace Johnston, a Martensdale-St Marys Community School District student.

Nearly six months ago, Grace was a patient at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines after an accident she didn’t see coming.

“We were having a great time and then we fell over and hit a bump and it crushed my arm,” Grace described.

An ATV accident crushed her artery and bones.

“At that point, all I really remembered was seeing all the blood and thinking, ‘Will my arm even hold up?’” Grace said.

Grace endured nine surgeries and an extended hospital stay, but her mother, Jennifer Johnston, says one of the hardest things to watch was the emotional toll and missing a major milestone.

“It was very emotional because she was devastated to miss school and prom,” Grace’s mother said.

The nurse went to great lengths to throw a surprise ball for a patient at the hospital.

“It’s funny because the first question I asked after surgery was, ‘When can I go to prom?’” the high school student said. “They say, ‘You can’t go to prom, girl.’ You need to lie down.

That’s when Grace’s mother confided in her nurse, Makenzie McBee.

“As we were getting closer to prom, we knew it was coming, so I mentioned it to Makenzie and said, ‘Hey, I’m just scared about it,’ and I was crying and saying, ‘I don’t know what to tell her,'” Jennifer Johnston described . “And Makenzie said, ‘Let’s do something.'”

So they set a goal.

“We didn’t tell her about the prom, but I said, ‘Hey, we’ll walk down that hall eventually.’ We’re going to get up and do it,” McBee said.

Her first steps since the accident took her to Blank’s high school prom.

In a room with a disco ball, red carpet and music, Grace tearfully hugged her nurse because she knew the extra effort was a labor of love.

“Just seeing the smile and happiness on her face was worth it,” McBee said.

In the same room, they met again six months later, giggling, smiling and hugging again.

Grace says the women on her team at Blank not only helped her arm heal, but also helped heal invisible scars.

“The fact that they cared, that they could relate to us and understand what we were going through, that was the most important thing, because if they didn’t, I don’t think I would have regained my mental balance either.” – Grace said. “You feel blessed when you meet these people in your life.”

This wasn’t the ball she had imagined, but she would never forget it.

Grace has big plans to attend this year’s prom.

She also spoke at schools across Iowa, warning other children about the dangers of off-road vehicles.