Michael Kammerman poses for a photo with his laptop, showing the video made by his daughter Reesa, at his home in Springville on Friday.
SPRINGVILLE -- It has been a little less than a year since the Kammerman family lost their 16-year-old daughter, Reesa.
She was ejected from a vehicle in a car accident in July and died on impact but was resuscitated at the scene by a truck driver, Adrian Grocock, who witnessed the accident. Reesa was on life support for two weeks in Las Vegas before dying July 28.
As family members have grieved the loss of their daughter and sister during the past 10 months, they have also seen miracles happen. In fact, the most recent miracle occurred just a few weeks ago when Reesa’s father, Michael Kammerman, was about to reset his computer to its factory settings.
“My computer was going so slow,” Kammerman said. “I had saved all the pictures and video files but just happened to look at an obscure subfolder and found a priceless treasure.”
Kammerman discovered a “selfie” video of Reesa that lasted about five minutes. The video itself wasn’t the treasure. Instead, it was the message she shared.
“In the video she doesn’t say a word,” Kammerman said. “She had written with a marker on a spiral notebook and used it as a flip chart.”
At first, Kammerman said he could barely get through the video because it was heartbreaking.
“Reesa had been through some difficult times,” he said. “And even though I was with her during those times, just to see it again it was hard. I think seeing it in print rather than having her talk about it was a lot more powerful.”
Reesa details some of the challenges in her life in the video, but she ends it with a message of hope.
“I don’t know why Reesa made this video,” her father said. “I don’t know if it was a school assignment or what it was. To me it was just amazing how much insight she had into things.”
Kammerman didn’t edit the video, just added music and a little bit of background information for people watching the video who might not know about Reesa.
Family members and friends described the video as amazing and powerful. Reesa’s aunt, Danial Selin, watched the video for the first time with family on Thursday night.
“Reesa was like my daughter and she lived with me for a time,” Selin said. “Of course I bawled. It brought me to tears. It is amazing that she left something like that for her family.
"It was emotional and touching because I was molested by a stepdad and I could relate. She left such a positive message, which I think she got from her grandma -- the message to forgive and not hold a grudge. It made me feel peace to know that Reesa felt that way and that she did her forgiving while she was here on earth.”
“I at first made the video private just for family and friends, but then I realized Reesa made this video for a reason,” Kammerman said. “It was a message she wanted out there. I felt compelled to leave it as it was and share the message.”
Kammerman felt the video and the message that Reesa left behind could benefit others who have gone through difficult experiences.
“I have relatives and people I know who have struggles, and watching this video they have seen all that Reesa has overcome,” he said. “This is a good message that I want to share.
"Hopefully it will give someone who is struggling a reason to hang on for a little bit longer and to know that everything can be OK. This is a way of paying it forward for people who have helped Reesa.”
To watch Reesa’s video visit www.kammermanfamily.blogspot.com.
