WHITEFISH — It's a story that started in tragedy almost two years ago, but Jordana Hubble's journey is anything but.
Let's start in November of 2019, when then six-year-old Jordana was struck by a vehicle after getting off the school bus in the small town of Olney near Whitefish.
She would survive, but the odds were against her. While in critical condition in January of 2020, Jordana was transferred to a coma emergence program in Houston.
Following months of intense treatment and rehabilitation, she was given the OK to return home to Olney in August of 2020.
Nearly a year later in June of 2021, Patricia Berliner, the woman charged with hitting and severely injuring Jordana agreed to a mediation sentence with the state of Montana.
Then, in late August of this year, Jordana walked into Muldown Elementary School in Whitefish on her own power to attend school once again.
Having fun with her mother at her favorite park is where you can find Jordana and her mom Veronica most days after school.
“You know this was a place that we went to often before, it’s just great to be back and getting back into the normal routine of things, just tearing it up, having fun,” said Veronica.
The park is just a few blocks away from Muldown Elementary where Jordana started classes on a half-day schedule back in August.
“We go from school straight to therapy, so she’s doing the hours that she would for school anyways, and it sounds like we’re going to be pretty shortly here shifting her back to full days and having some of the therapy taking over by school staff at Muldown, so that’s pretty exciting,” added Veronica.
She said Jordana has made major strides since returning home to Olney. Thanks to hours of intense therapy, Jordana is walking unassisted and starting to speak once again.
“It’s completely different than how she was before, she just gets all over the place and into everything,” said Veronica.
Veronica said Jordana loves messing around with her brother and sister and playing with her 3-year-old cat Peaches.
“She’s always been crazy about the animals, she loves them so much, and Peaches her cat, he knows who Jordana is, that’s his mom and that’s the one he wants to go and sit on and play with and she’s all about it, gives him all the attention he just so desperately wants,” said Veronica.
Veronica says letting Jordana struggle is the hardest part of her recovery, but she knows all that hard work will pay off down the road.
“We just keep setting new goals for her and she’s just chugging along, I mean she’s always going to be a little bit behind but by the time she’s my age it probably won’t even be noticeable,” added Veronica.
