'You Changed Our Lives': Crash Survivors Meet Paramedics
DENVER (CBS4)- Not too often do paramedics get a chance to meet the patients they've treated, but one Denver family had something important they wanted to tell those who helped them.
"We just wanted to make sure that you knew you changed our lives," Tiffany Crump told a group of Denver Health paramedics. "We really appreciate all of you guys."
On September 1, 2017, Tiffany's daughters, Talia and Jade, and their father were seriously hurt in a bad wreck on Interstate 70. While stopped in traffic on the interstate, their vehicle was rear ended by another vehicle going 70 mph.
"The call I got was that he thought my children were dead," Tiffany said of the call she got from her ex-husband.
Seven months later, following months of surgeries and recovery, the family reunited with the paramedics who helped saved their lives.
"It's what we do," Jennifer Lockwood, one of the paramedics who treated Talia and Jade in the back of an ambulance, said. "We're happy to do it."
Tiffany told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann Verizon's Super Bowl commercial about thanking first responders inspired her daughters to reach out.
"My youngest, Jade, said, 'Mom, I want to do that. I want to be able to thank them because they fixed me,'" Tiffany said.
Alfonso Orozco, the girls' father, could not hold back his tears when he recalled the crash that nearly killed him and his family.
"I'm just thankful they're alive," he said, adding his thanks for the paramedics who helped him. "Without them we couldn't be here."
After thanking the Denver police officers and Denver fire crews who rushed to the scene that September afternoon, Talia and Jade finally had a chance to personally thank the Denver Health paramedics as well as give them thank you letters.
It's a small act of gratitude that made a big difference to those who often go unappreciated.
"In this [Denver Health] system, we have 200 paramedics who run over 100,000 calls a year," paramedic Robert Moon said. "In five years of doing this, I think this is the third patient that has come and found me to thank me out of all those calls."
Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team as the morning reporter in 2012. After serving as weekend morning anchor, Kelly is now Covering Colorado First for CBS4 News at 10. Connect with Kelly on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @KellyCBS4.