Local teen Tatum Love graduates from ICU

Tatum Love [Courtesy GoFundMe]

Ten days after she was critically injured in an accident, local teen Tatum Love has graduated from the intensive care unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

“We are always hesitant to ‘jinx’ anything considered positive news but a lot of things went right over the last 24 hours,” her family said Friday on their Caring Bridge page.

The 16-year-old First Flight High School student has been opening her eyes and tracking what’s going on around her and her medical team thought she’d be ready to transition out of ICU early next week. But they later decided she was doing well enough to go to the step-down/transitional unit right away and moved within the hour, her family said.

“We obviously have a long road ahead but hard things take a long time…really hard things take a little longer!” her family wrote. “The love and support continues to both inspire and lift us up when times get tough. Words cannot explain how grateful we are for all of it.”

A GoFundMe for the Love family, started by one of Tatum’s classmates, surpassed $97,000 on Friday after a $7,500 boost from a fundraiser this week hosted by Slice Pizzeria in Kill Devil Hills.

The crash on U.S. 158 at East Palmetto Street in Kill Devil Hills remains under investigation.

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About Kari Pugh 1073 Articles
Kari Pugh is digital director for OBXToday.com, Beach 104, 99.1 The Sound, 94.5 WCMS and News Talk 92.3 WZPR. Reach her at kpugh@jammediallc.com