For 15-year-old Drew Barefield, the scars on his back and his leg are a painful reminder of when he was hit by a boat while snorkeling with his father in Pensacola.

  • Drew Barefield was struck by a boat while snorkeling
  • He was in a medically induced coma for about 1 month
  • #ChildrensHospitalsWeek is a week-long event

"It was very tough," he said.

Drew suffered from a collapsed lung, crushed kidneys and a lacerated liver.

"I laid him on the tailgate, and he's turning blue and purple," said Trey Barefield, Drew's father. "(He was) having trouble breathing (and) losing a lot of blood. As a dad, you're supposed to protect your kids, and I felt that I had failed at that point. But God gave peace of mind and a focus that I could get through it."

Drew was in a medically induced coma for about a month. After more than a dozen surgeries and more than two years of physical therapy, he has made a full recovery.

A portable ventilator purchased with donations from the Children's Miracle Network that kept Drew alive.

Wendy Barefield, his mother, said she is grateful for the people who cared for her son.

"The whole time we were there, they just wrapped their arms around us and became our family," she said.

The Children's Miracle Network has named Drew a champion for the state of Florida. Every state has an ambassador.

For the first time, the agency is launching Children's Hospitals Week, a campaign designed to encourage people to donate. All contributions will stay local.

Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando is one of about 170 hospitals that is part of the Children's Miracle Network.

John Bozard, the president of the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation, said about 10 million children were touched in some way by the network in 2016 because of funds raised to support the hospital.

To help spread the word, the network is asking people to grab a bandage, write the name of a child who has benefitted from a children's hospital, put it on, take a picture and post it to social media with the hashtag #ChildrensHospitalsWeek.

Drew said the lessons he learned along the way about helping others have made him realize his scars are just skin deep.

"They helped me a lot, so it's just time for me to pay it forward," he said.

There will be a Facebook Live-a-thon for the inaugural Children's Hospitals Week at 10 a.m. Friday to help raise funds with actor Nick Cannon in Orlando.