WATCH: Parkland shooting survivor and emergency responders hold press conference at hospital cbsn.ws/2BR71h6
Lt. Laz Ojeda gets emotional as he recounts the Parkland, Florida, school shooting and how he and EMTs saved a student named Maddie who was shot by the suspected gunman cbsn.ws/2BR71h6
“I am very grateful to be sitting here next to my daughter, alive and well today. There are a lot of people to thank for Maddy’s life, and 4 of them are in the back of the room right there,” David Wilford, father of Maddy Wilford, thanks first responders for saving his daughter
“It is a tragedy, but I would like to try to find a way to find the positive... What I feel very strongly about first & foremost is the power of prayer. We have had an outpouring from people that we don't know. People that now I consider to be our friends,” Wilford’s mother says
"She knows who she is. She knows where she wants to go and what she wants in life. That strength & power helps you heal. It makes you want to get up and it makes you want to keep going. She is an inspiration to me and all of those that have reached out to us," Maddy's mother says
“I'm so grateful to be here & it wouldn't be possible without the officers & 1st responders & amazing doctors. Especially all the love that everyone has sent... I wouldn't be here without it. I just want to send my appreciation and love out to all of you,” Maddy Wilford says
“I got into this job to help people. I guess when you are able to see it [help], it makes it that much better,” Lt. Laz Ojeda, who helped save 17-year-old Maddy Wilford during the mass shooting, says cbsn.ws/2BR71h6
Doctors say Maddy Wilford was shot three times during the Parkland school shooting and underwent three surgeries in a 48-hour period
Reporter: Can you explain how it's possible that [Maddy's] chest and abdomen healed so fast after such a traumatic injury?
Doctor: Her age. Young people have a tendency to heal very fast. It is very rewarding to treat pediatric patients because they do very well.
Doctor: Her age. Young people have a tendency to heal very fast. It is very rewarding to treat pediatric patients because they do very well.
Being able to successfully save Maddy Wilford after she was shot three times made Lt. Ojeda feel like "a tool in god's hands, something like that. That's what it felt like." cbsn.ws/2BR71h6
“Every patient that came into us got the same exact care and treatment that Maddy got, and have all done well. That is the reason why we do this...We’re a trauma center here and we are prepared to handle these type of injuries," doctor says cbsn.ws/2BR71h6
"Perhaps if we had gone 30 miles away, she wouldn't have made it... Something made me disregard a faraway voice saying she needs to go to Broward General. We brought her here. Everything turned out well for her and her family," Ojeda says of bringing Maddy to Broward Health North
"Were on auto mode, meaning we were just working based on our instincts and on our training...it didn't hit me until that night when we were doing our stress debriefing and I saw other people affected. Then it affected me," Ojeda says of witnessing aftermath of school shooting
