Give Miracles: Allen's Story

Los Angeles - A teen who recovered from coma after being hit by a car is now inspiring other kids just beginning their recovery at Childrens Hospital.

Kids are learning to put their lives back together in the Trauma Rehab Unit at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles.

Many of them came close to losing everything.

Two years ago, Wendy and Rick Alvarado nearly lost their son Allen after he was hit by a car.

Rick was holding his son's hand when a drowsy driver plowed into them.

Allen was rushed to the emergency room at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Rick recalls that he was immediately surrounded by a troop of doctors and nurses trying to find out what was wrong.

The ER is a Level 1 trauma center. Emergency surgery is not uncommon.

"Sometimes, it's literally seconds we have between saving a life and losing a life," Dr. Jeffery Upperman says.

Allen sustained an injury to the right side of his brain and spent eight days in a coma. When he woke up, Allen says he had no idea where he was, and was unable to control the left side of his body.

"It was weird because my mind was still running at the same pace," Allen says. "But my body wasn't catching up."

Dr. Upperman says that's common with brain injuries.

"The brain just needs time for that bruising if you will to calm down and get back to normal," according to Dr. Upperman.

The road to recovery started at square one... from walking to standing to even sitting.

Allen says getting better wasn't easy, but he regained everything within a year.

Now, he visits with kids just starting

Allen shares this message: "No matter how depressing it may seem or no matter how far you've fallen, you can definitely get out of it."

Wendy and Rick say they may never get over the trauma of coming so close to losing Allen, but there's not a day that goes by they're not grateful for what happened at Childrens Hospital.