Tournament raises $10K for Emily Bowman

WOODSTOCK, Ga. — A 19-year-old hit-and-run survivor is starting to move a little more on her own after a traumatic accident eight months ago.

The Emily Bowman Charity Golf Tournament kicked off in Woodstock at The Golf Club at Bradshaw Farms Monday. As soon as family friends finished up their rounds on the course, they were greeted by Emily herself.

Her parents told Channel 2's Craig Lucie that after each surgery, she has shown progress through her eyes and most recently her arms and legs.

"When we ask her a question, she blinks her eyes to acknowledge what we are asking. It's gradual, day by day," Dale Bowman, Emily's father, told Lucie.

Debbie Bowman, Emily's mother, said she is starting to move a little more.

"She is now moving her right hand, and she is having some leg movement in both of her legs. That is what's kind of happening," Debbie Bowman said.

Dale Bowman told Lucie that Emily's therapy is working and even though it's been a slow recovery, they have found ways to make it fun.

"She'll start pulling things back, and we play thumb war all the time and she has a strong little thumb now," Dale Bowman said.

Emily Bowman has been recovering from traumatic brain and other injuries after being hit by a suspected drunk driver in Athens in February. She needs 24-7 care and is confined to a wheelchair.

At the silent auction Monday, pictures of her before the accident were on display and several golfers told Lucie they needed to be there for her family.

"Tragedies like this happen all the time that go unnoticed. It's good to play for a cause that brings out the struggles that families can go through just with young children," explained Zach Shewmaker.

The silent auction helped raised nearly $10,000, which will go toward Emily's medical costs. Her parents told Lucie that those costs could be into the millions by now.

WSBTV