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By Andrea Nagel
Greg Nordfelt
is the luckiest
man on earth, or so he says.
On Aug. 15, 2011, he narrowly
survived a life-threatening
motorcycle crash while on vacation
with his wife, Laura, and a family
friend. Now, he travels the country
as a motivational speaker, using
his experience to help medical and
corporate professionals.
Three years ago,
Kootenai Health
magazine published an article
about Greg, telling the story of his
traumatic brain injury (TBI), 11-day
coma and miraculous recovery back
in his hometown of Salt Lake City.
This past August, Greg returned to
Kootenai Health on the fifth an-
niversary of his crash to meet and
thank his care team in person.
F O R C A R E R E C E I V E D
“You worked endlessly for me,”
he said to the group of physicians,
nurses, therapists and hospital
administrators. “I can’t remem-
ber anything from my time in the
hospital, but I’ve heard of the
tremendous effort of the medical
team who saved me. From the
medical notes that I’ve read, and
the stories I’ve been told, there
was a clear outpouring of love and
warmth to me and my family from
the caregivers at Kootenai.”
Greg now plans to return to Coeur
d’Alene a third time as the spokes-
person for the Kootenai Health
Foundation’s Festival of Trees Gala.
As a patient, Greg knows firsthand
the importance of high level emer-
gency, trauma and surgical care,
and how philanthropic investments
greatly impact the high-tech and
high-touch care patients receive.
‘ T O S H A R E M Y G R A T I T U D E ’
“Over the past five years, I've
focused on finding ways to give
back to the brain injury com-
munity and mentor patients and
caregivers,” Greg said. “Speaking
on behalf of Kootenai Health has
become part of my identity as I
make motivational presentations to
medical and corporate groups. The
opportunity to assist the Kootenai
Health Foundation and raise much-
needed funds seemed like a natural
extension of my desire to share my
gratitude for all that was given to
me here in 2011.”
Proceeds from the 28th annual
Festival of Trees will benefit the
expansion of emergency and surgi-
cal services at Kootenai Health as
part of a multiyear capital campaign
underway with the Foundation.
S E R V I N G A N E E D
“The emergency department
expansion is essential for the com-
munity we serve,” said Steve Malek,
M.D., chair of Kootenai Health
Emergency Services. “Our present
department is designed to accom-
modate 32,000 annual visits, and
we currently see over 50,000. We
are the safety net for the community
and need to have the capacity to
respond to the rapidly expanding
needs of the patients we serve.”
ReturningWith Grace
HOWGREGNORDFELT ISGIVINGBACK
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