Patient surprises family after early release from hospital

Citlali Mora was in critical condition when she arrived at Sharp Memorial Hospital after being involved in a car crash. Fortunately, as a Level II Trauma Center, everything Citlali needed was in one place.

“For Citlali’s case, we had the spine surgeons, we had the orthopedic surgeons, we had the nephrologists, we had the physical therapists all there for her,” says Dr. Peter Cha, the trauma doctor who first treated her.

Even after it was clear that Citlali would survive and avoid paralysis, she faced the possibility of months of rehabilitation in the hospital. But through her hard work and her care team’s efforts, it was determined that she was ready to go home after just 40 days.

Wanting to spare the emotions of her father and sisters in case of a last-minute change, only Citlali and her mother knew that her release from the hospital would come much earlier than expected. Citlali decided to take advantage of their unawareness to pull off an epic surprise, all captured in a video displaying their family’s powerful love.

Watch the video above to learn more about Citlali and the trauma team that helped bring her home.

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