One year ago, on a warm July evening, Ohio State president Gordon Gee received the phone callevery parent fears, that there had been an accident.
His daughter, Rebekah, and her husband, Dr. Allan Moore, were seriously injured in a scooteraccident near Philadelphia.
"It was awful," Gee said. "Basically (I heard) that my son-in-law was not going to make itand my daughter was equally critical."
For the first time, we saw a different side of OSU's exuberant president, one of sadness andfear, 10TV's Andrea Cambern reported.
"This young lady has been the center of my world for 32 years and to know that she is extremelyill is just different to manage," Gee said after the crash.
SLIDESHOW: Images OfRebekah Gee
Moore, Rebekah Gee's husband of just two years, would not survive his injuries. She wouldneed months of rehabilitation to overcome hers, including shattered bones, fractured ribs andparalysis.
"There were days I woke up after Allan died and I wanted to die," Rebekah Gee said. "Ithink everyone feels that way when they go through something like that."
She knew she would overcome the pain of loss. She had before, when her mother, Elizabeth,died of breast cancer when she was 16.
"I've had a lot of tragedy in my life but I've had a lot of wonderful things," Rebekah Geesaid. "One of the wonderful things about my life is I've been the daughter of Gordon Gee andI've been able to travel and see the world and meet lots of people who have made positive change ona large scale - including my dad - who I think of as a wonderful leader."
The bond between father and daughter is evident. The two clearly enjoy each other'scompany, Cambern reported.
"You've got to be pretty proud of what's going on in her life," Gordon Gee said. "She's afabulous young lady. She really is. She's remarkable. Every father should havesuch a daughter."
Gordon Gee said that his daughter convinced him to return to Ohio State, where he served aspresident from 1990-97. He returned to the university in 2007.
"(Rebekah) said, 'Go home, Dad,'" Gordon Gee said. "She said that to me a number oftimes. 'That's where your heart is. That's where you want to be.'"
Rebekah Gee said that she loves being in Columbus, too.
"Ohio is a special place," she said. "There's really nowhere like it in the world,especially Columbus."
Rebekah has chosen to live her life for now in Washington, D.C. She moved there to work onthe Obama transition, serving on the Health and Human Services team, and hopes to one day work inthe administration on health care reform.
"I've always had aspirations to make broader change and certainly health care is a field wherewe need broader change right now," Rebekah Gee said.
She is practicing medicine at George Washington University Hospital, delivering babies.
"It's just such a beautiful moment when you can take that baby in your arms and show it to Momand Dad for the first time," she said.
Rebekah is also getting her Masters degree in science and health policy research, and drawing onher life experiences for an enhanced degree of compassion and care.
"I lost my mother. I lost my husband. I sat with him while he died, held him in myarms. All of those things, I think, give me a new perspective on being a physician," RebekahGee said. "I really have an appreciation for what the patient feels."
Rebekah Gee is still undergoing rehabilitation and still has some lingering health issues fromthe crash, but is working through it. Her father is healing, too. She told Cambern thatthere is a new love in her life, in addition to her father.
Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for additional information.
Previous Stories:
Sept. 8, 2008: BuckeyesHonoring Gee's Daughter, Son-In-Law
July 28, 2008: Gee: 'It Was So Terrifying'
July 25, 2008: ArrangementsMade For Gee's Son-In-Law
July 24, 2008: Gee's Son-In-LawDies At 31
July 23, 2008: Condition OfGee's Son-In-Law Worsens
July 21, 2008: Gee'sDaughter Moved To Columbus Hospital
July 14, 2008: Gee'sDaughter, Son-In-Law, Hurt In Crash
