FORT MYERS, Fla. — Today marks five years since 10-year-old Summer Kates of Fort Myers was hit by a car on New Year’s day 2015.
After being rushed to Golisano Children’s Hospital and a long road to recovery she started an organization to give back to children in need.
Fox 4 spoke with Summer and her mother about how they managed to turn a negative situation into something positive.
15-year-old Summer Kates and her mother are re-living the terrifying day that changed their lives forever.
"I was riding it where I couldn’t see the car and the car couldn’t see me,” said Summer Kates.
“There was just a blind spot, nothing that could have been changed in the moment, it was just a matter of not being able to see one another…bad luck if you will,” said Kristi Kates.
Summer was rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered her broken femur and scrapes down to her bones.
Left confined to a wheelchair and walker for months, summer made a remarkable recovery.
After the near-death experience, she decided to give back to children in need.
She launched "The Summers Project”, which is now a big success. The initiative includes baking and selling cookies to raise funds for Golisano Children’s Hospital.
“We started off with store brand, and now people are obsessed with our homemade chocolate chip cookies,” said Summer Kates.
“We didn’t live in the moment, we didn’t hang on to it we sort of just took it an ran with it in a different direction,” said Kates.
An honor roll student, Summer loves her family friends and soccer.
This week, she donated over $7,000 dollars to The Lee Health Foundation, and for the past five years, she has given the foundation more than twelve thousand dollars.
“I’ve learned not to take the negative out of things, this whole thing gave me a whole new perspective of life…it taught be there is always a positive outcome,” said Summer Kates.
“Its really taught us to look at things in a positive way she’s almost inspired us to look at things differently,” said Kristi Kates.
To support or donate summer’s project head to https://www.facebook.com/SummersProject/
100% of the proceeds go toThe Golisano Children’s hospital.
