Sam's Story

Samantha, a 17 year old from Nephi, was on her way home from watching a volleyball game with three of her good friends. She was driving and they were in a horrible accident. The car rolled multiple times. The three passengers had minor injuries. Samantha suffered a spinal cord injury. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Nephi and then life flighted to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. Upon arrival to Utah Valley she had several tests run and then was put in traction to prepare for surgery. The next morning Samantha had surgery where they fused together her C5, C6, and C7 vertebrae. C6 and C7 were both fractured. The surgery went as well as could be expected. Immediately after surgery the prognosis was not good. Samantha only had minimal use of her arms and no use of her hands or legs. Two days after surgery an MRI showed that the spinal cord was not severed, but had received severe trauma. We still do not know how much function she will regain, but we are hopeful! Sam is amazingly strong and stubborn! She has a huge support system of family and friends and we know she can make it through this! I (her sister, Mariah) will try to update frequently to keep her support system aware of how she is doing. Please leave her comments and encouragement and I will read them to her. If you have any questions for me, please let me know and I will answer them as I am able.