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A CHEERLEADER who lost both of her legs in a car accident isn't giving up on doing what she loves. Sarah was travelling with friends on July 30th, 2020, when they were hit head on by a drunk driver. Sarah, who loves cheerleading, golf and swimming, was heavily sedated and her parents had to make the decision to amputate her legs due to the risk of infection.
Follow Sarah on Instagram: @strong.like.sarah
Videographer: Sophia and Israel Prestwich
Producers: Martha Hewett, Ruby Coote
Editor: Ian Phillips
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0:00
Before the accident, I was a really active person, always on the go
0:04
I was a cheerleader on the golf team, and I loved to swim
0:12
After the accident, I feel like I'm the same person. This will be the first basketball game that I'll cheer at
0:21
On July 30th of 2020, I was coming home from my friend's cabin and we were hit head-on by a drunk driver
0:38
I was instantly paralyzed and had many internal injuries. Greg told me that Sarah has been in an accident
0:48
I fell to my knees and just started crying. Couldn't believe it
0:52
We were just in shock. I remember everything leading up to the accident
0:57
I don't remember getting hit, and I actually don't remember the next two weeks after that
1:04
I was heavily sedated and constantly in and out of surgeries. Those first few weeks when we were with Sarah in the hospital
1:13
it was just this nightmare that we just wanted to wake up from
1:19
I finally woke up. I had a breathing tube down my throat I had a neck brace on I could only look up and my arms were tethered to the sides of my bed My parents were sitting next to me and they were the ones that had to tell me about the accident
1:34
The doctor, he said, in order to save her life, we'd need to amputate her legs
1:39
He basically gave us a choice, but of course there was no choice to make. Yes, save her life
1:46
Before the accident, I was a really active person, always on the go
1:50
I was a cheerleader on the golf team. I would swim all summer at my friend's pool
1:57
I was constantly going on adventures. I had a big group of friends
2:04
I remember in the hospital, my dad said, you can still do everything that you want to do
2:09
You just have to find a new way of doing it. And that's just really stuck with me
2:14
The hardest thing I've had to adapt to is probably just relearning how to do everything
2:24
Come on, come on. There we go. Oh, my arms. So I'm going to transfer into my bed
2:33
I just come close to the bed and then I just hop right on
2:40
Physical therapy has been super helpful for me. It's gotten me a lot stronger
2:46
I was on the golf team before the accident and I really wanted to learn how to golf after the accident I didn think I be able to do it but my physical therapist kind of taught me how and now I do it and it not too hard
3:00
I just have to keep my balance. And yeah, I really enjoy it
3:08
Her attitude, her response, her reaction to what happened to her that was something completely beyond her control
3:16
has been absolutely amazing. She has just said from day one, I'm going to be okay
3:24
She says, don't be sad for me. I'm going to be just fine. Her ability to cope with this has just floored us
3:32
Our family and friends were wanting updates on Sarah. So our daughter, Emily, she started an Instagram page
3:42
to put all the updates on. It just grew from there. I've been cheerleading for about five to six years
3:55
I really enjoy stunting mostly, just putting people up in the air
4:01
This will be the first basketball game that I'll cheer at. I'm really excited to cheer
4:07
I think it'll be fun to get back out there and do what I love
4:12
I heard about Sarah accident through one of my friends Originally I didn believe it because I was just texting Sarah that morning I was very emotional I was very worried for her
4:24
and that what she was going through. I like training for basketball games
4:30
It's really fun being on the side and watching the whole game
4:34
I honestly didn't think that I'd be able to do this again after the accident
4:46
I just was like, how is it possible? Will I even fit in my uniform
4:53
We're so proud of her. She has progressed so quickly. Her future is so bright
4:57
It's really fun doing everything that I used to do and I love seeing the crowd and getting everyone pumped up
5:09
The hopes and dreams we have for her haven't changed. It's the same as it's always been
5:15
I feel really proud of myself for being able to stay positive in such a hard time
5:21
I've learned even though I'm going through something hard, I can still help other people
5:27
I'm able to sympathize more because this is the hardest thing I'll ever go through