Holly Chunmei Bergstrom’s life was marked by quiet perseverance in the face of great challenges.

Adopted as an infant from China by Nancy and Gary Bergstrom, Holly grew up with developmental disabilities, including mild cognitive disabilities and a severe anxiety disorder.

On the evening of August 3, the 25-year-old Eden Prairie woman’s life took a tragic turn when she was struck by a Honda CRV after exiting a car that was parked in the northbound left-turn lane of Flying Cloud Drive at the intersection with Anderson Lakes Parkway.

Although Holly survived the initial impact, she succumbed to her injuries the next day at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.

Her mother is telling Holly’s story to raise awareness of the challenges her daughter faced and to emphasize that the driver of the Honda CRV, a 17-year-old from Shakopee, was not at fault.

Nancy explained that because of Holly’s cognitive disabilities, she has difficulty fully understanding situations or properly assessing risks.

“Her anxiety disorder also played a role, especially given the circumstances that occurred on Saturday night,” she said.

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A day full of love and routine

Holly spent her last day with her best friend, Camryn Masse, whom she had known since childhood and whom she had adopted from the same orphanage in China’s Anhui province.

The two, inseparable since childhood, started their day with coffee at 9:30 a.m., attended a puppy event at PetSmart, visited the beach at Riley Lake Park, watched the Olympics and had dinner at Culver’s.

Their bond was formed in China, where they first met as part of a small group of children adopted by families who traveled together to meet their new children. “They were two of four children in their adoption group,” Nancy recalled. After Camryn’s family moved to Eden Prairie, the two girls attended the same elementary school. “Holly and Camryn have been together their whole lives – like two peas in a pod,” Nancy said.

As the evening approached, Holly’s anxiety grew. Added to that was the responsibility of walking the family dog ​​- a task her parents had assigned her while they attended a Minnesota Twins game.

“She wanted to please people so much that she hated saying no, even to friends like Camryn, even when she was tired,” Nancy said. “She was very sensitive to people’s perceptions and was thin-skinned – if someone unfriended her or didn’t respond to a text or post right away, it would hurt her deeply.”

Holly, who was sitting in the back seat while Camryn and her boyfriend were in the front, was getting more and more nervous as they waited at a light to make a left turn on Flying Cloud Drive. A police car with its siren on turned the light back on, leaving them stuck at the light longer than usual.

“When they were at the light, she didn’t want to bother Camryn by going back to get the things Holly had left at home,” Nancy believes. “All of this led to her making a sudden decision: She thought, ‘I’m not far from home, so I’ll just get out of the car, walk home and walk the dog.'”

Camryn and her boyfriend tried to lock the windows and stop her, but “it all happened in a second – she just ran,” Nancy said.

Nancy believes Holly, who was not driving, became disoriented and ran in the opposite direction of her house, possibly confused about her location. She believes Holly saw the crosswalk and assumed she could use it, not knowing she was in the middle of a highway and traffic on Flying Cloud Drive had a green light.

“She ran into the road and ended up in front of a moving car,” Nancy said. “It wasn’t the driver’s fault at all – it can happen to anyone. You’re driving perfectly and suddenly something unexpected happens in front of you and you can’t stop in time. She just didn’t stand a chance.”

Holly suffered severe injuries. “At Hennepin Healthcare, they were honest from the beginning and told us it was a severe brain injury from which she would likely not recover,” Nancy said.

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A life full of creativity and determination

Despite her challenges, Holly found joy in creative pursuits and close connections with those around her. She enjoyed simple pleasures like exploring social media, playing Minecraft in survival mode, and watching romance and horror films.

Holly’s love of animals, especially cats, was another cornerstone of her life. “She was very fond of our pets and loved cats – her room was full of cat-themed decorations and ornaments,” Nancy said. “Whenever she saw a random cat in public, she would almost squeal with joy.”

Her mother also said that Holly was very visual. She had a keen eye for certain types of images – anything that was quirky, artistic or sparkly caught her attention.

“On vacation, she would take photos, but not of the typical historic sites,” Nancy said. “For example, when we visited Washington, D.C., she wasn’t interested in taking photos of the Lincoln Memorial or the Capitol. Instead, she would focus on something like a cool piece of tile art that caught her eye.”

After graduating from Eden Prairie High School in 2017, Holly participated in the TASSEL program, which is designed for young adults with disabilities ages 18 to 21.

“This program allowed her to try different activities without the usual academic pressures and helped her find her way,” Nancy said. One of the activities offered to Holly that she did an excellent job at was making greeting cards.

Nancy also reflected on how Holly’s cognitive disability profoundly affected her life. She and her husband were Holly’s primary caregivers, taking care of her needs throughout her life, such as food, transportation, appointments, medications and finances.

“We were often asked if she had autism, but she didn’t,” Nancy said. “Instead, she was dealing with challenges that in many ways had similar impacts on her life as autism – for example, not being able to live independently or care for herself and needing help with everyday tasks. It’s important to understand the bigger picture.”

Still, Holly was an independent person and was often frustrated with her disabilities. “She wished she didn’t have them and often complained about them, which led her to assert her independence in various ways,” Nancy said.

However, Holly was making progress. Her job as a kitchen assistant at Nothing Bundt Cakes was fulfilling.

“She didn’t handle retail tasks like serving customers and managing money, but she thrived as a kitchen helper,” Nancy said. “They were very popular there. Despite all her challenges, she had a strong work ethic.”

Nancy thanks Camryn for encouraging Holly to try new things, like rock climbing at Vertical Endeavors – something her mother never expected her to do. In addition to her other challenges, Nancy says Holly had sensory issues, a fairly small comfort zone, and struggled with an eating disorder called ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder).

“She was a very personable person, very sweet and a beautiful girl,” Nancy said. “Because my husband and I were so important to her, she was very concerned about our age. My husband is 67 and I’m about to turn 67, and she wondered what she would do when we were too old to care for her. That’s a moot point now.”

Camryn, Holly’s best friend, spoke about her difficult loss, saying, “She was the sweetest young lady and never said an unkind word. Holly was always my best friend, my ‘sister’ from day one. Thank you for all the laughs and fun memories.”

In an emotional Facebook post shortly after Holly’s death, Camryn wrote: “I lost my best friend tonight who was hit by a car last night and suffered severe injuries all over her body. I’m so happy we had a full day of fun from 9:30am to 8:15pm. As always, we hung out inseparably and some called us Thing 1 and Thing 2. I’m so grateful and honored that I got to spend the entire day with her and be the last person to hold her before she got into the ambulance.”

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An unforgettable life

Holly’s memorial service was held Friday morning at Redeemer Bible Church in Minnetonka, a place where she had recently found solace despite her social anxiety.

“She didn’t go to church for a long time because she had social anxiety, but for the last two years she’s been coming with us,” says Nancy. “It became important enough to her to overcome those fears.”

Holly leaves behind her parents and her sister Abby.

“We get a lot of support from our church, but also from family, friends and neighbors,” Nancy said. “Our faith plays a big role in how we see the bigger picture of this situation.”