Paulding Student Hit By Car Headed Home From Hospital: Mother

PAULDING COUNTY, GA — After two months in the hospital and two brain surgeries, a North Paulding High School student who was hit by a car in January was allowed on Tuesday to go home.

Kendall Thomas, 14, was on her way from school to football practice on Jan. 11 when she was struck by a vehicle while using a crosswalk near the North Paulding campus. The incident left Thomas in critical condition, according to multiple news reports at the time.

"The students on the other side were yelling, 'No, Kendall.' But by the time they yelled no and she stopped, it was too late," Shanna Thomas told WSB-TV.

On Tuesday, her mother Shanna announced that Kendall was leaving Scottish Rite Children's Hospital.

"Today is the day that we have longed for; it is the day that we have waited for; it is the day we all have prayed for ... Discharge Day!" Shanna Kendall posted to her Facebook page.

"Just when we were ready to let go, God's Mercy and His Grace kept us," Shanna wrote. "Our new level of anxiety became our new level of hope. Our pain became joy. Our restlessness became peace. Our doubts became faith. Our 'new normal' became our text and our test is becoming a testimony."

Photos accompanying the post show Kendall in a wheelchair, wearing a pink "KENDALLSTRONG" t-shirt.

A GoFundMe campaign to cover Kendall's medical expenses remains online. By Wednesday, it had raised about $91,000 of its $100,000 goal.

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