Kalan Nicholson has worn a few distinctive gowns in recent weeks.

On April 19, she woke up in a hospital gown after being hit by an alleged drunk driver. In the wreck, Nicholson was ejected from the vehicle, suffering a broken neck and other injuries.

Exactly two weeks later, she put on her prom dress and joined her friends on the dance floor. That night she was crowned prom queen.

On Sunday, Nicholson will don a cap and gown as she graduates from Powell High School.

After everything she’s gone through in the past six weeks, Nicholson is thankful.

“The support of the community and of my family and friends has been amazing,” Nicholson said. “It’s been really hard to get through school and everything. I never realized how many people I had around me who were there to help.”

Nicholson and her boyfriend, Mason Olsen, were driving home from Cody when an alleged drunk driver speeding at 88 mph slammed into the back of their vehicle in Ralston.

“I was ejected, even wearing my seat belt,” she said. “I landed outside on the ground in front of his car. We’re not really sure how I made it out, but I made it out somehow.”

“It was still buckled. I went back to the car the next day, and the seat belt was still buckled,” Olsen added.

Nicholson has no memory of the wreck, and few memories of the hours leading up to the crash.

When she awoke in a Billings hospital the next morning, “I didn’t remember where I was or where I’d been or anything,” Nicholson said.

“I never in my life realized the amount of pain you can be in all at once,” she added. “Waking up and finally realizing what was going on, my whole body was in pain.”

Nurses told Nicholson about the car wreck and the extent of her injuries.

“When I figured out what was going on, I kept asking if Mason was OK. I would forget, so he would constantly say, ‘I’m all right,’” Nicholson said.

She also asked about her close friend, Kelsey Marchant. Though Marchant wasn’t in the car, Nicholson worried about how she would respond to news of the crash. The girls’ best friend, Daile Pascoe, was killed in a vehicle accident on New Year’s Day this year.

“It was really stressful for me, getting that call (about Nicholson) and feeling like I was going to lose another friend,” Marchant said. “It was really hard. I didn’t ever want to leave her side — and I didn’t for a long time.”

Marchant visited Nicholson in the hospital and helped her as she returned to school a week after the wreck.

“They told me two weeks, and I was really determined to go to prom,” Nicholson said. “I just struggled my way through the week so I could get to go to prom.”

Olsen accompanied her to the dance.

“I was really glad to have him by my side,” Nicholson said.

Strong support system through struggles

For a few months, Nicholson must wear a neck collar to stabilize her head.

“If I get bumped wrong or if I fall wrong, it could paralyze me,” she said. “I’m really thankful to not be paralyzed, but I’m living everyday with the fact that, if I’m not careful, it could be gone in an instant — and that’s scary.”

Because of her concussion, it was difficult for Nicholson to remember what she learned in class before the car wreck.

“Going back to school, it was like I was a whole new student,” she said. “I didn’t know what was going on.”

That’s especially stressful for a senior in the final weeks before graduation.

“I like to do well in school, so that was hard,” she said.

Nicholson appreciates the support of her family, friends, teachers and others who have helped in the days since the wreck.

“I’ve definitely learned that I have a really good support system,” she said. “If I hadn’t had the people around me that I do, I don’t think I would have been able to get through school.”

Nicholson is attending Northwest College this fall, where she plans to study nursing.

“I want to be a pediatric nurse,” she said.

Nicholson took a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course through NWC and was scheduled to take her board exams this month, but she couldn’t because of her injuries.

Her interest in nursing started when her younger brother underwent treatment at the Children’s Hospital in Denver.

“That’s something that was always close to my heart,” she said.

Always buckle up

The teens and their families are thankful for those who responded to the April 18 wreck in Ralston.

“We’d all like to thank the EMS, fire department, highway patrol,” said Monty Nicholson, Kalan’s dad.

They also are grateful for the passersby who arrived on the scene and helped.

Following the wreck, both Nicholson and Olsen have a greater appreciation for life.

It could be over in an instant, Olsen said.

“Live — don’t be down all the time. You’re here. You get to be on this earth, and you get to experience new things every day,” he said. “Even when I think I’m having a bad day, I mean, it could be a lot worse.”

The teens encourage people to always buckle up.

“Wear your seat belt,” Olsen said. “It saved our lives.”