Charles City welcomes home Carly Stevenson

(ABC 6 News) – Wednesday was a special day in Charles City, Iowa. Carly Stevenson was welcomed home after a brain injury just over six months ago.

"This day is the day we’ve all been fighting for. Everybody back together," Carly’s brother, Wyatt Stevenson, said.

Carly was escorted home by the Charles City Police Department Wednesday afternoon followed by a parade of friends, family and the loving community of Charles City.

"I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet as far as us being able to be all together," Michelle Stevenson, Carly’s mom, said.

Carly was going to be on the track and field team at Wartburg College while she studied accounting. But just six months ago she had an anoxic brain injury from a blood clot in her lung.

The Stevenson’s were told several times she wouldn’t make it. Doctors told them to prepare for the worst because Carly’s chance of survival was one in 250,000. But, she defied the odds.

"We’re lucky. We’re very lucky to have her and we’re lucky that we’ve had such great community support and even strangers that we don’t even know that have helped us out and made it possible to bring her home," Michelle said.

"Everybody’s supporting," Brian Stevenson, Carly’s dad, said.

The big moment of the day was Carly seeing her remodeled bedroom for the first time in over six months.

My Happy Place in Mason City does bedroom makeovers for kids who are sick. But for this project, things were different.

"Carly was actually out of our age group we usually say until age 17 and our board decided no. We are about helping people and it was more important that we did the room than stick to some guideline we had," Executive Director of My Happy Place, Lisa Tan, said.

Tan said generally My Happy Place gets one nomination for a child. They got two for Carly.

"We’re just amazed to still have her. She’s pretty awesome," Michelle said.

Carly’s family said she is getting better every day and will continue her therapy at home.