Severely injured in a car crash, Taylor found lifesaving trauma care at Beacon Kalamazoo

On May 8, 2025, Taylor Harbin was driving through Allegan County on her way to meet two of her best friends from college for dinner. It wasn’t a special occasion. They were simply looking forward to spending time together.

Then, in an instant, everything changed.

Taylor’s SUV collided with a pickup truck and rolled several times. Today, she remembers very little about the crash itself.

“Looking back, I consider that a blessing,” she says.

The first memories she has are scattered fragments. Voices. Pain. People trying to reach her, trapped in her SUV. Although she doesn’t remember every detail, she was able to recite her husband’s phone number to a couple who had stopped to help. They continued calling until they finally reached him.

For nearly an hour, Taylor remained trapped inside the vehicle while emergency crews worked carefully to free her.

“I remember being in a lot of pain,” she says. “I think I was in and out of consciousness.”

One moment from that time has stayed with her. The seatbelt supporting her body was pressing into her ribs, causing intense pain. A firefighter climbed into the wreckage alongside her and did what he could to relieve the pressure while crews worked around them. He also shielded her as rescuers used specialized equipment to cut her free.

“I think about that gentleman often,” Taylor says. “He was a source of comfort in very scary moments and he did whatever he could to get me out of there.”

Trauma care when seconds mattered

About an hour after the accident and with careful extrication from the wreckage of her car, Taylor arrived at Beacon Kalamazoo as a trauma patient. EMTs had been in contact with the emergency department, a verified Level II Trauma Center, making sure they were prepared for her arrival.

As a Level II Trauma Center, Beacon Kalamazoo provides around-the-clock trauma care with immediate access to trauma surgeons, specialized physicians, nurses and support teams trained to care for patients with serious injuries. Patients like Taylor receive rapid, coordinated trauma care for complex injuries when every minute matters.

Although Taylor remained stable through transport, her trauma care team quickly recognized that she had suffered significant injuries. Scans revealed five broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a large head laceration, fractures in her sacrum and severe pelvic injuries.

Then her condition suddenly changed.

After returning from a CT scan, Taylor became short of breath. Within moments, the trauma team recognized the problem and inserted an emergency chest tube to relieve pressure on her lung and help her breathe.

As physicians, nurses and other specialists worked together to stabilize her injuries, Taylor held onto one memory from those early hours. Her husband, Andrew, had made it to the hospital before she arrived.

“I remember being able to tell him that I loved him,” she says.

Taylor would later undergo surgery to repair her pelvic injuries. Surgeons placed three screws to stabilize her pelvis and support healing. Knowing orthopedic surgeon Cameron Vanlaningham, MD, personally brought comfort to both Taylor and her family during an uncertain time.

“It gave us such peace knowing whose hands I would be in,” she says.

Small victories, steady progress

Taylor spent 10 days in the hospital before transferring to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids. Recovery became her full-time focus.

Each day included three hours of physical and occupational therapy. While the work was challenging, it allowed her to regain strength and independence more quickly.

“The hardest part of recovery was pain management and the fear that I would hurt myself or set back my healing,” she says.

Along the way, it was often the smallest acts of kindness that made the biggest difference.

Taylor remembers a nurse named Bri, who went out of her way to help her feel like herself again after surgery. With help from Taylor’s sister, Bri carefully washed Taylor’s hair and removed as much glass as possible from the crash.

“I was very thankful to feel a little more normal and clean after that,” Taylor says.

When she was discharged, Taylor and Andrew moved into her parents’ home. While Andrew returned to work, Taylor’s mother stayed with her each day to help with her recovery.

Slowly, the difficult days became easier. The milestones grew bigger. The progress became more noticeable. And eventually, life began to feel normal again.

A reason to look forward

Taylor Harbin, left, stands with lead EMT Laura, who provided care at the 2025 crash scene, during Beacon’s Survivors Dinner in May 2026.

Today, Taylor is fully recovered and has returned to her normal activities.

“I am happy to report that other than some aches, I am pain free,” she says with a laugh. “My pelvis can tell the weather.”

One of the highlights of her recovery came at Beacon’s Survivors Dinner in May of 2026, where she met the lead paramedic who cared for her at the crash scene and reconnected with members of her care team. The experience helped fill in pieces of a day she may never fully remember.

But the milestone that means the most is still ahead. Taylor and Andrew are expecting their first child.

“It’s truly crazy to look back a year ago and think that now we have reached the third trimester with our first child,” she says. “The biggest miracle to me is that I can carry our child.”

Grateful for every person along the way

When Taylor reflects on her journey, she thinks about the countless people who helped her along the way, from the strangers who stopped to help after the crash to the first responders, physicians, nurses, therapists and family members who supported her recovery.

Andrew Harbin, left, stands with Taylor Harbin as she cradles her pregnant belly in September 2026.

“I can’t stress enough how grateful I am for every person who was at my crash site and everyone who received me at the hospital,” she says. “They’re the reason I am back to living my everyday life today.”

She is equally grateful for how caregivers supported her family during one of the most difficult days of their lives.

“What they do makes a difference long after the lifesaving measures they provide,” she says.

Many details from that day remain incomplete, pieced together through conversations with family members and the people who cared for her. What Taylor knows for certain is that because of their skill, compassion and determination, her story did not end on a roadside in Allegan County.

Instead, it continues with new memories, new milestones and the anticipation of welcoming her first child into the world.