Turtle Talk - Morgan's Story and the Family's Journey

In Episode 13, we revisit the chaotic weeks after the crash as our Sioux Falls, South Dakota family navigates legal pressure, harassment, and media rumors while fighting for Morgan’s recovery in a Nebraska rehab hospital. We share why we retained counsel, how a notice of intent escalated tensions, the toll of police intimidation near our home, and why we documented everything in the hospital. Thro...

A few weeks into rehab in Nebraska, our Sioux Falls, South Dakota family finds unexpected strength through a welcoming Catholic church community. From meeting new friends (Mike, Ellen, Elizabeth, Bob & Mary) to navigating insurance hurdles and daily therapy, this episode captures the “God things” that kept us going — quiet moments in chapel, shared meals, small clinical wins, and signs of prog...

In this episode, we pick up at the end of Week 1 inside a Nebraska rehab hospital and share what daily life really looked like for Morgan—and for us. From G-tube feeds and trach/BiPAP support to five hours a day of OT, PT, and Speech Therapy, you’ll see how the team began rebuilding the basics: swallowing, tracking, muscle memory, and core stability. We talk honestly about the fear of the unknown,...

In this powerful episode, Michelle and Tom share the emotional transition from the trauma hospital to the rehab center — a moment filled with fear, gratitude, and faith. From watching Morgan’s medical flight arrive to discovering unexpected blessings like a nearby home to stay in, this week tested every emotion imaginable. You’ll hear how the family navigated new routines, therapy sessions, insura...

Ep. 9 is one that holds both heartbreak and hope at the same time. This part of Morgan’s Story walks through the crushing frustration of insurance denials, the emotional setback of fevers and C. diff delaying transfer, and the feeling of fighting for every next step in her recovery. Listening to this chapter of Morgan’s Story, you can feel the exhaustion of trying to do everything right and still...

In this Episode 8 of Turtle Talk Podcast, we sit down and answer some of the hardest questions families have been asking about Morgan’s Story. From the terrifying drive to the hospital in the Sioux Falls area, to the shock of the ER, to helping siblings process trauma, this episode shares the real emotions behind a family journey no one is ever prepared for. We also talk through painful care issue...

Some parts of a family’s story stay with you because they reveal what love really looks like when everything else falls apart. In this part of Morgan’s Story , we hear about the day-to-day reality of crisis: parents staying as close as possible, siblings carrying pain quietly, and a family trying to hold onto hope during ICU recovery . What stands out most in this conversation is not just the hard...

When the knock came in the middle of the night, everything changed. In this powerful episode of the Turtle Talk Podcast, we hear Morgan’s Story from a new perspective — her dad. From waking up to sheriffs at the door, to beating the helicopter to the hospital in Sioux Falls, SD, to standing beside her in the ICU, this episode walks through the raw, unfiltered reality of parenting in crisis. This i...

There are moments in a traumatic illness journey that change everything. After weeks in the ICU, fighting for movement, fighting for documentation, fighting for hope… Morgan said one word: “Mom.”Forty days of silence. And then—life. In this episode of the Turtle Talk Podcast, we share the breakthrough moments that carried our family through ICU recovery in the Sioux Falls area and into the next ch...

Those early days in the ICU blur together. Time moves slowly when you’re sitting at a bedside, holding your child’s hand, praying, watching monitors, and waiting for any sign of hope. In Episode 4 of Morgan’s Story and the Family’s Journey, Michelle and Craig open up about what daily life really looked like during those first weeks — the prayers, the fear, the waiting, and the small moments that c...

Day three changed everything. In the middle of fear, uncertainty, and exhaustion, Morgan gave her family a sign they didn’t even know they needed. A quiet moment in the ICU turned into a lifelong phrase of hope—one that carried this family through the darkest hours of Morgan’s traumatic illness journey. Episode 3 of Turtle Talk Podcast takes us back to the raw early days of ICU recovery, where fai...

The first 48 hours in the ICU changed everything. In Episode 2 of Turtle Talk Podcast, we continue Morgan’s story during the most chaotic and gut-wrenching days of our family journey. Fear, faith, confusion, and heartbreak collided as we fought to stay beside our daughter while navigating trauma, blame, and unimaginable obstacles. This episode shares the raw truth of what happens when survival is...

#realtor_craigbertrand #turtletalk #MorgansStory This is where Morgan’s Story begins. One ordinary summer night turned into every parent’s worst nightmare. In this first episode of the Turtle Talk Podcast, we step into the moments before and after the accident that changed our family forever—from Morgan’s vibrant personality and love for life, to a 3:00 AM knock at the door that shattered everythi...

How did we end up Running a Marathon at a Turtle's Pace!