“As a mom you feel helpless. Her life is out of your hands,” says her mother, Cori. “As an emergency room nurse myself, and after spending time with herCottage medical team, I knew they cared and were doing everything to save Keilani’s life.”

It was beautiful April day when Keilani and her college roommates were driving to the Carrizo Plain to see the wildflowers in super bloom. They’d planned a picnic and a photo shoot to capture the beauty of the vibrant landscape.

Keilani was the first to spot the car crossing lanes just before the head-on crash. And that’s all she remembers from that ill-fated day.

Keilani’s injuries were severe, with multiple fractured bones, acute brain, heart and lung trauma, and massive internal vascular bleeding – her life hung in the balance. Thankfully, she was airlifted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, the only designated Level I Trauma Center serving California’s Central Coast. The Cottage medical team saved Keilani’s life.