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BLUFFDALE — Sophia Ostler and her family are taking things day-by-day after the 11-year-old suffered a severe spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed below the neck.
"I'm feeling very good," Ostler told KSL-TV.
Ostler, from Bluffdale, was involved in a car accident in West Valley City on July 29. Police said the driver of the car she was in ran a red light, causing a truck to hit them.
"We were at home, and I know that she was on her way to see her cousins in a play that they were doing," said her father, Craig Ostler. "We got a call that she had been in a wreck and was taken to a hospital out in West Valley."
Sophia was later flown to Primary Children's Hospital. Her heart even stopped for a few minutes.
"It kind of just went blank for a second, and then I kind of felt like I went to a different place," Sophia said. "It was a sunflower field. And I felt like in the sunflower field, I was asked if I was ready to die. And I said no."
Her family describes her as strong and brave during this experience. Doctors told her family she would likely not survive due to the severity of her injuries, but she pushed through.
Craig said his daughter received a severe spinal injury, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.
"It makes me feel a lot more positive because there's purpose. There's a meaning," he said.
I'm on day 44, and I'm still doing a great job.
–Sophia Ostler
On Sunday, for a few minutes, Sophia was able to get out of her hospital bed and enjoy some fresh air. Members of the UMF motorcycle club rode their bikes just outside Primary Children's in honor of Sophia.
She, along with family and friends, enjoyed the sight, giving her a sense of normalcy ahead of a long road to recovery.
"I feel like nothing can hurt me anymore since I've been through so much," Sophia said. "(The doctors) said I wasn't going make it through the first night. And I am still right now — I'm on day 44, and I'm still doing a great job."
The family has set up a GoFundMe* account to help with medical expenses.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
