Last year, the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD) helped Christina Maupin back to health after a near-fatal car accident. On Sunday afternoon, the Nansemond River student gave the hospital a little help back.

Maupin, who’ll graduate from River Saturday, took part in the 22nd annual CHKD telethon, which raised a record $3.6 million.

&uot;I definitely owe CHKD half my life,&uot; said Maupin, &uot;them and Sentara Norfolk General.&uot;

After the Sept. 15 crash, Maupin spent a few weeks at Sentara before moving to CHKD. She came home just before Thanksgiving.

&uot;Christina was one of the most amazing patients we had,&uot; said CHKD public relations associate Ridgley Ingersoll. &uot;Every year, we invite 30 or 40 patients to the telethon, and there was no thought that she wouldn’t be invited. She was a start patient; her story was so compelling.&uot;

Telethon viewers saw the story in a video before Maupin’s interview with WVEC newscaster David Alan. The montage showed Maupin’s senior photos, a picture of her crashed car, tapes of her cheerleading as the co-captain of River’s cheer squad, and talking about her future plans, which involve attending Christopher Newport University and going on to teach high school English.

Alan’s colleague Joe Flanagan jokingly volunteered to do a news story when she starts teaching.

&uot;Whenever I had any questions, they got asked and answered,&uot; said Maupin, who’s still forced to drink through straws because of damage to her throat. &uot;I got along with everybody, and they got along with me. As much as they want us out of here, they sure do miss us when we’re gone.&uot;

&uot;Everyone thought I’d be all depressed when I see the car in my driveway everyday,&uot; said Maupin, whose totaled car sits in front of her Buckingham Road home, &uot;but it doesn’t, because it could have been worse. (My accident) made so many changes.&uot;

After the crash, a stoplight was installed at the intersection, and trucks are no longer allowed in the area.

Aside from getting the Virginia High School League’s Courageous Achievement Award, Maupin has gotten scholarships from the Tidewater Builder’s Association, the Delta Kappa Gamma teacher’s sorority and the Suffolk Education Foundation.

Money raised in the telethon, which included an $800 gift from the Suffolk Beauty Academy, will go toward purchasing new equipment and furnishing programs that insurance might not cover, Ingersoll said.

jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com