Student returns to university with help of stairlift

A university student who suffered severe injuries in a car accident is now returning to university thanks to the support of her friends and family. Sarah Toney was involved in a serious car accident on 2^nd May 2013 and doctors were reportedly concerned that she would not survive, however she has undergone a spectacular recovery and is now ready to return to university this autumn.

Sarah was driving home to Florida with her boyfriend after her final exams at Marshall's School of Pharmacy when a nudge from a truck sent her car into the path of an oncoming FedEx truck. Whilst her boyfriend walked away with just one broken bone, the driver's side of the car took the brunt of the impact and Sarah sustained a number of serious injuries. Four months on, Sarah has major scars, an elbow that won't bend and needs a cane to walk short distances, but she won't let that stop her from completing her degree.

Now that she has returned to Marshall's School of Pharmacy for her second year of study, Sarah's mother has moved in with her to help her get to university and cook her meals, whilst her classmates have carried out a number of fundraising activities to have a stairlift solution installed in her apartment so that she can manage the stairs independently. She is also dedicating two days each week to physical therapy in the hopes that she will walk again, and occupational therapy has helped her to adapt to her new needs.

Sarah's father, Dr John Toney, studied at Marshall's School of Medicine in 1978 and she was determined to follow in his footsteps and complete her studies, something that she has a strong chance of achieving thanks to the support she has received from friends, family, doctors and independent-living aids following the accident.

Image Credit: j.o.h.n. walker (flickr.com)