‘I saw God twice:’ Boating accident survivor thanks Lee Health

Reporter: Elizabeth Biro Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:

After surviving an unthinkable accident in Matlacha, one woman wants to thank the medical team that saved her.

Laying in a hospital bed flashing the “Rock-on” symbol, you wouldn’t know by her smile, but Nichole Hall was fighting for her life.

Throughout recovery, that symbol became her thing.

“I couldn’t talk at the time, so I guess this was my way of just, you know, encouraging my family that everything was going to be OK,” said Hall. “So you can’t really get more rock and roll than dying twice.”

Hall’s heart stopped twice after a boating accident where her lower body hit the propeller.
When she woke up she was handed a whiteboard.

“The first thing I wrote on the whiteboard was I saw God twice,” said Hall.

On Tuesday, Hall sat in front of the team, at Lee Health’s Gulf Coast Medical Center, who saved her life to thank them.

“When we first saw Nichole, it was, you know, one of those moments that you’re like, oh, my God, she’s alive,” said Lewis.

Dr. Joseph Lewis was on call and said people with Nichole’s injuries don’t make it to the hospital. They removed her leg and parts of her hip.

The road to recovery has been long but Nichole’s true spirit shined brighter.

“During your recovery, you were worried about how you can give back,” said social worker Erika Taylor.

Hall asked Taylor, “How can I be a mentor?” to help other survivors.

“Everybody in the hospital was really just there for me,” said Hall.

Since the accident, she met her baby nephew, walked down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding and even won a costume contest dressed as the Terminator.

“I was recently fit for a new prosthetic. I named her Peggy, just as a humorous tribute to the traditional peg leg,” said Hall.

She never lost her sense of humor or her love for the water.

Nichole’s gone back on the boat. Next, she’s going in the water.

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