THURSTON – Teagan Merritt, a 16-year-old junior at Thurston High School, woke up last week thinking she was a 14-year-old 8th-grader at Thurston Middle School.
It was a typical response for someone with a severe brain injury, the result of a tragic car accident that has thoroughly shaken the Thurston community.
Now, the elite wrestler and longtime horseback rider has to figure out how to put together all the missing pieces in her head. How to make sense of things when a lot of things don’t make any sense.
Doctors say the road to recovery could be a long one.
But those who know Teagan say she’s a special breed. That she never lets anything stand in her way.
When they say this isn’t her first rodeo, it’s not just an expression. Teagan has raced in state and regional OHSET equestrian barrel racing competitions, becoming a big hit among fans and fellow riders alike.
Teagan and her friend Shyla Flores were returning home from a bonfire on Saturday, Nov. 15 around 1:30 p.m. While Teagan was napping in the backseat, Flores was signaling to make a left turn into the Merritts’ driveway on Hwy. 126, when a Dodge truck collided with the rear end of their Ford Focus, launching it more than 284 feet forward and into a creek.
Flores had frantically flashed the brake lights, honked the horn, and even pulled over toward the shoulder – actions that family members believe helped save Merritt’s life.
Besides the severe brain injury, Teagan was left with a broken jaw, fractured scapula, damaged spleen, broken orbital bone, fractured ribs, and other injuries. Flores miraculously escaped without any serious injuries.
That full-size Dodge truck also escaped. Video was captured of the accident by an oncoming driver, but Oregon State Police were reportedly still investigating the accident.
Nobody knows when – or if – Teagan will return to the mat, where she finished fourth in the state in Class 5A last year as a sophomore after placing sixth as a freshman in coach Mike Simons’ popular wrestling program.
Teagan started wrestling as a seventh-grader, becoming an All-American after capturing state titles in USA Wrestling in both freestyle and Greco-Roman style.
“She’s a great wrestler and everybody has pulled together and everybody is rooting for her,” Simons said. “My phone has been going nonstop with everybody rooting for her.
“I’ve known her since 7th grade. She’s a fighter – she doesn’t let obstacles stand in her way. If anybody can get through this, it’s Teagan.”
Simons was reminded of the torn meniscus that Teagan fought through last season while finishing fourth at state.
“She wrestled through it, but that’s pretty typical in sports,” he said. “You go through a few injuries here and there, and Teagan has had her share, and she knows how to deal with them.”
Gina Merritt, Teagan’s mother, has been at her daughter’s side in RiverBend Hospital almost constantly since the accident. She has been told that Teagan’s recovery could take several months – maybe even years – as every brain trauma injury is different.
Her parents are prepared to deal with a lot of uncertainty, even though Teagan is making great strides so far.
“We just know it is going to take a lot to get our child back to being … well, we’ll just say, a normal child and not back to a child who is ready to wrestle, right now ready to throw a leg over a horse or compete somewhere,” Zion Cosby, her father, told KVAL. “Not saying that she will ever be back on the wrestling mat or on horseback, we don’t know.”
“So, it sounds like she will be here for a while, you know,” Gina added, “just healing and recovering and then it sounds like she is going to be going to Craig Hospital near Denver, and I think that estimate will be $17,000 for the flight and then we will not know how long the treatment there will last.”
So far, the Thurston community has stepped up in very heartwarming fashion.
On the 25th, Track Town Pizza donated 50% of its food sales to the Teagan Merritt Medical Fund; Papa’s Pizza Parlor is hosting a Pizza Day on Dec. 4 in Springfield, with 50% of the proceeds going to her medical fund; Tannerite Sports Outlet is holding an all-day fundraiser for Teagan on Dec. 13; Selco has a Teagan Merritt medical donation account; Fight Like Teagan shirts available at: https://bit.ly/4p2zd5w
If you would like to help support Teagan and her family, here is their GoFundMe link: gofundme.com/f/help-teagan-merritt-fight-for-her-life
“A tragedy like this pulls people together,” Simons said. “People all around the state have been checking in. The community is rallying around her. We just want to see Teagan get better and hopefully, be back out on the mat when she gets healthy.”
