DAPHNE, Ala. — Katie Hamlin attended Bayside Academy before she was hospitalized in June 2009. She completed her sophomore year that spring, but medical complications kept her from beginning her junior year.

Heart failure from her lungs not producing enough oxygen to the rest of her body sent her into a coma. She then had a stroke, which damaged part of her brain, causing memory loss. But Katie worked her way back to the point where she can attend school again.

Editor’s Note: You’re reading the third of a five-part feature on Daphne resident Katie Hamlin’s life after what many have called a miraculous recovery from acute respiratory distress syndrome. 

The driven 16-year-old is starting a new school year at Daphne High School.

See the rest of this story in the Sept. 3 Daphne Bulletin.