16-year-old Houston girl hit by car while vacationing in Florida now out of ICU

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston family is counting their blessings on Good Friday after their daughter was critically injured while on a family vacation in Florida.

Melissa Friels, 16, was hit by a car while riding a bicycle in Pensacola. She has been in the ICU at a hospital since Monday, March 15, after having to undergo emergency brain surgery.

On Friday, her parents told Melissa graduated from ICU and while they were settling into their new room, they got a call they’d been eagerly waiting for.

“God really and truly has been with Melissa this whole entire time and gave us good news like, ‘Hey you’re going to a different room,'” said Melissa’s father Kenneth Friels. “When we get to the different room and get settled, we get a phone call from TIRR and it’s like ‘Wow!’ So we will never look at Good Friday just as Good Friday. We will look at it as a good blessing day.”

They family said they were hoping to transition her recovery and therapy to Houston. The phone call from Memorial Herman TIRR means they can now come home much sooner than expected.

Her father said Melissa’s recovery will be long and she will have to re-learn how to walk, talk and even swallow.

But he says she has already made great strides and is able to wave, high five and give a thumbs up.