00:00Before the accident I was a really active person, always on the go. I was a
00:05cheerleader on the golf team and I loved to swim. After the accident I feel like
00:15I'm the same person. This will be the first basketball game that I'll cheer at.
00:26On July 30th of 2020 I was coming home from my friend's cabin and we were hit
00:32head-on by a drunk driver. I was instantly paralyzed and had many internal injuries.
00:45Greg told me that Sarah has been in an accident. I fell to my knees and just
00:50started crying. Couldn't believe it. We were just in shock. I remember everything
00:55leading up to the accident. I don't remember getting hit and I actually
01:01don't remember the next two weeks after that. I was heavily sedated and constantly
01:06in and out of surgeries. Those first few weeks when we were with Sarah in the
01:13hospital it was just this nightmare that we just wanted to wake up from. I
01:20finally woke up. I had a breathing tube down my throat. I had a neck brace on. I
01:25could only look up and my arms were tethered to the sides of my bed. My
01:29parents were sitting next to me and they were the ones that had to tell me about
01:33the accident. The doctor he said in order to save her life we need to amputate her
01:39legs. He basically gave us a choice but of course there was no choice to make.
01:42Yes save her life. Before the accident I was a really active person always on the
01:50go. I was a cheerleader on the golf team. I would swim all summer at my friend's
01:56pool. I was constantly going on adventures. I had a big group of friends. I
02:04remember in the hospital my dad said you can still do everything that you want to
02:09do you just have to find a new way of doing it and that's just really stuck
02:13with me. The hardest thing I've had to adapt to is probably just relearning how
02:22to do everything.
02:24Come on. Come on. There we go.
02:28Oh my arms.
02:29So I'm going to transfer into my bed. I just come close to the bed and then I just hop
02:39right
02:40on. Physical therapy has been super helpful for me. It's gotten me a lot stronger.
02:45I was on the golf team before the accident and I really wanted to learn how to golf after
02:52the accident. I didn't think I'd be able to do it but my physical therapist kind of taught
02:57me how and now I do it and it's not too hard. I just have to keep my balance and
03:05yeah I really enjoy it.
03:08Her attitude, her response, her reaction to what happened to her that was something completely
03:15beyond her control has been absolutely amazing. She has just said from day one I'm going to be okay.
03:23She says don't be sad for me. I'm going to be just fine.
03:27Her ability to cope with this has just floored us.
03:31Here we go.
03:32Our family and friends were wanting updates on Sarah so our daughter Emily she
03:39started an Instagram page to put all the updates on. It just grew from there.
03:51I've been cheerleading for about five to six years. I really enjoy stunting mostly, just
03:58putting people up in the air. This will be the first basketball game that I'll cheer at. I'm really
04:05excited to cheer. I think it'll be fun to get back out there and do what I love.
04:12I heard about Sarah's accident through one of my friends. Originally I didn't believe it because I
04:17was just texting Sarah that morning. I was very emotional. I was very worried for her and that
04:24what she was going through. I like training for basketball games. It's really fun being on the side
04:32and watching the whole game.
04:42I honestly didn't think that I'd be able to do this again after the accident. I just was like,
04:49how is it possible? Will I even fit in my uniform?
04:53We're so proud of her. She has progressed so quickly. Her future is so bright.
05:02It's really fun doing everything that I used to do and I love seeing the crowd and getting
05:08everyone pumped up. The hopes and dreams we have for her haven't changed. It's the same as it's
05:14always been. I feel really proud of myself for being able to stay positive in such a hard time. I've
05:22learned
05:22even though I'm going through something hard, I can still help other people. I'm able to sympathize
05:30more because this is the hardest thing I'll ever go through.
05:44seeking to be able to be fun because of being able to stay positive and feeling
05:44the most part of what I've been working with today. How to take care of
05:44How to take care of everyone.
05:45Since we're on a holiday, you know, you need to be able for 20 minutes.
05:45You know, when you have to be able to be able to be able to be able to
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