Doctors, first responders celebrate 11yearold’s return home after suffering severe burns in car crash
Aug 20, 2026
After spending seven months in the hospital, an 11-year-old girl who survived a violent crash and major burns celebrated her remarkable recovery as she’s headed home.
It’s a day that’s been months in the making for Abigail Alcenat.
Her journey to recovery has been difficult after she suf
fered burns to 58% of her body in a car crash in Palm Beach County.
“This is a miracle for me,” said Etjohns Alcenta, Abigail’s father.
Back in January, Abigail was trapped inside of a burning car following a crash.
Her brother, John Alcenat, had been driving at the time.
“I don’t exactly remember what happened. It was like I was driving and everything went dark. I remember waking up about four days later,” said John.
Christopher Sheehan, a firefighter for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, responded to the scene and managed to pull the 11-year-old out of the burning vehicle.
“When I searched the backseat, nothing was there. When I searched the floorboards, Abby was there. Lucky we had the spreaders right there,” said Sheehan.
Abigail was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center due to the severity of her injuries.
Since then, Abigail has proven herself to be a fighter, staying strong over the last several months in the hospital.
“I expect with time she’s going to do really well. She will continue to see us in our clinic almost weekly. She’ll also continue with physical therapy and she still has a few more surgeries to go, but overall, I think she will do very well,” said Dr. Shevonne Satahoo, who works in the trauma, burns and surgical critical care department.
Satahoo said the young girl’s medical team has been inspired by her perseverance and determination to reach the next stage of her recovery.
“To be working with her the past seven months has been an incredible journey. She asked to be discharged by August and I am happy to fulfill that wish for her,” said Satahoo.
With Abigail’s wish being fulfilled, she got a hero’s celebration from doctors and first responders as she returns home to her loving family, who are overjoyed to see this day finally arrive.
“It’s a very emotional day for each and every one of us. All I wanna say is a great thanks to each and everybody that took part in her recovery,” said John.
The road so far has been arduous.
“It’s been hard on all of us, I would say emotionally and physically. You can tell just by the support she had today and everyone showing up, it really is a testament to the teamwork,” said Satahoo.
In spite of all of that pain to get to this point, Abigail and her family basked in the love and and joy shared by those who helped them every step of the way.
“We see how people come show love they have for Abigail and my family. It is unbelievable, it is something we cannot really explain,” said Etjohns.
A GoFundMe has been created for the family to assist them with the medical bills that have piled up as she recovers. If you would like to donate to help Abigail and her family, you can do so here.
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