“Honestly, I don’t remember a lot from my time in the hospital. I had to have someone tell me what happened.”
Those are the words of of 18-year-old Kenzie Koppenhaver, a senior at Kiel High School.
She still struggles to speak, but for all that she and her family have been through the last 18 months they all feel Kenzie is truly a walking miracle.
It was Christmas Eve 2021 when Kenzie and her sister Brenna were driving to work about a mile from home on a road engulfed in dense fog when their vehicle was struck by an oncoming truck.
Kenzie, who was driving, suffered a traumatic brain injury that left her unconscious and in a coma for two weeks, while Brenna sustained multiple injuries including a broken pelvis and a lacerated spleen.
The Koppenhaver family were guests on WOMT Sports Talk this week at The Big Apple on Rockwood.
Brenna says the accident was like one big blur.
“I remember looking out my window, seeing the truck coming at us, and then I remember coming too and realizing my airbag was out and the car was destroyed,” she recalled. “I lost a little bit of time there, but I think that was more so my brain’s trauma reaction.”
What made things worse was that they couldn’t see Kenzie right away as she tested positive for COVID-19 and was basically isolated from everyone.
Following multiple surgeries, Kenzie started to make progress.
Medical personnel began to notice when they spoke about sports and soccer she perked up.
Brenna noticed too.
“It was very clear that’s what was getting her motivated to keep pushing and working hard to recover,” she explained. “Doing soccer in the physical therapy room was one of the first ways that got her on her feet in the hospital.”
Kenzie kept working to where she was strong enough to return to school full-time with her sights set on the Raiders’ first day of soccer practice in March.
On April 7th, 2022, she returned to competition as the Raiders made their first appearance in the Girls State Tournament.
That’s not all she’s been up to.
“My club soccer team went to regionals and won nationals, while my school team went to state. Unfortunately, they lost in the first round,” Kenzie explained. “Then, this past month, my robotics team went to worlds. That was a great experience.”
Last Wednesday, Kenzie was recognized at the WIAA’s Annual Board Meeting in Stevens Point as the recipient of the WIAA Spirit of Sport Award, given to an individual who exemplifies the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics.
Her parents. Randy and Melissa sum it up best.
Randy said “I thank God for it every single day. It’s miraculous. I just can’t express enough gratitude for how the situation turned out. It’s a miracle.”
Melissa added, “We feel lucky.”
