Prom Night Wish Comes True for Georgia Teen Recovering from Brain Injury

High school junior Abbie Williamson has deserved the awesome week she’s having.

Just eight weeks after sustaining life-threatening injuries in a February car accident, the Gwinnett County 17-year-old had a wish fulfilled to attend junior prom with Mountain View High School classmates.

On Friday, around 80 attended a special prom for her at the Shepherd Center in Buckhead, where she’s been recovering from a Feb. 25 accident near her home that left her with a serious brain injury and broken pelvis. The prom event, complete with formal wear, a DJ and a Daddy-Daughter dance, was organized with the help of therapists at Shepherd.

Things get even better for Williamson, who will be discharged Tuesday from Shepherd, and begin an outpatient program from home.

 “I am feeling good,” Abbie told WSB-TV, which chronicled the Friday event.

Williamson, a dual-enrollment student, was seriously injured on Feb. 25 while leaving her neighborhood to attend afternoon classes at Georgia Gwinnett College. Her pelvis was broken in two places and she also sustained a “diffuse axonal” brain injury, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post, that left her unable to walk. The injuries were life-threatening at first.

The Mountain View community responded quickly with prayers, well wishes and fund-raisers for the family (go to AbbieWilliamson.com or her CaringBridge.com site for ways you can help). The school’s athletics teams wrote her initials on shoes and equipment, and the hashtag #P4AW spread prayers for her recovery.

Friday’s outpouring of community support made sure Williamson’s prom night wasn’t spent in a hospital room.

“The prom is just a part of what the whole community has done in standing behind us and supporting Abbie,” mother Mary Beth Williamson told the Daily Post.

Want to Help?

You can support Abbie Williamson’s recovery from a serious brain injury. Go to AbbieWilliamson.com or her CaringBridge.com site for more info.