Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202209S
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00:01 >> Hello and welcome to It Is
00:02 Written Canada. 00:04 Thank you for joining us. 00:06 As a little girl, Sarah 00:08 McConaghy learned to ride a 00:10 bike, swim, and enjoyed 00:12 playing with her friends and 00:14 her big sister, Emily. 00:15 [MIKE] She loved drawing, 00:17 down-hill skiing, photography, 00:19 and riding horses 00:20 competitively. 00:21 Unfortunately, her life was 00:23 tragically altered one fateful 00:25 day in mid-winter when the 00:27 roads were hit with the first 00:30 major snowfall of the year. 00:32 >> Everything Sarah once did 00:34 without much effort became a 00:36 near impossibility. 00:39 However, she never gave up. 00:42 >> Before the accident, she 00:43 prayed for God to rescue her 00:46 and He did, but not in a way 00:48 that she expected or desired. 00:51 >> Sarah wished her tragedy 00:53 had never happened, but she's 00:55 OK with it because this was 00:57 her path out of a destructive 00:59 lifestyle. 01:01 This was the way God saved her 01:04 and changed Sarah for life. 01:06 >> In a moment you will meet 01:08 this courageous young lady, 01:10 Sarah, and her mother, Cathy. 01:12 ♪♪ 01:15 ♪♪ 01:53 [horse whinnying] 01:58 >> So, Cathy and Sarah and 02:00 your emotional support dog, 02:02 Charlie Brown, welcome to 02:05 It Is Written Canada. 02:06 We are really looking forward 02:08 to hearing your story. 02:10 >> Well, thank you, Mike and 02:12 René, for having us and we're 02:13 looking forward to telling 02:15 our story. 02:16 >> Thank you. 02:17 >> So, Sarah, you love horses, 02:20 like, they're big in your life. 02:22 Tell us about that. 02:23 [SARAH] Yes, very big. 02:25 Ever since a young age my 02:28 mother had a horse and I grew 02:33 up around her and then she 02:37 sold her and then I decided to 02:39 get back into it. 02:42 [RENÉ] And what kind of riding 02:44 did you do, Sarah? 02:47 [SARAH] Well, I mainly did 02:48 English and jumpers, 02:53 lunger jumpers and now it's 02:58 mostly western. 03:02 >> So, Sarah, what kind of 03:03 activities did you like to do 03:05 besides horseback riding? 03:08 >> I liked to ski and I liked 03:13 to snowboard and I loved knee 03:18 boarding. 03:20 >> So, Sarah, when was the car 03:22 accident that you had? 03:24 >> It was in the winter, 03:27 January 29th near my birthday. 03:32 >> And what birthday were you 03:34 going to have? 03:35 >> My 21st. 03:37 [MIKE] So you were just 03:38 about 21. 03:39 >> Sarah, were you driving? 03:42 [SARAH] No, I was not driving, 03:44 but it was my car. 03:47 [CATHY] No, Sarah was not 03:49 driving, the young fellow that 03:51 was driving was a very 03:54 inexperienced driver and was 03:56 going too fast for the 03:57 conditions. 03:59 He was going 83 in a 70 and 04:03 when the police retrieved the 04:04 black box from Sarah's car, 04:06 that's where they actually had 04:08 the record of that and they 04:11 also recorded, I believe it 04:13 was three to four inches of 04:15 snow so he should have been 04:16 going closer to 50, but as I 04:19 said, he was inexperienced, 04:21 lost control, the car left the 04:23 road, hit a tree, stopping the 04:27 car very suddenly and actually 04:30 the car bent right around the 04:32 tree and they had to use the 04:37 Jaws of Life to get Sarah out 04:39 and on impact, Sarah's head 04:43 went over to the left, hitting 04:46 the driver's shoulder and then 04:48 back over to the window. 04:51 And actually he got a small 04:54 fracture on his shoulder from 04:55 Sarah's poor head. 04:58 And that's where most of the 05:00 damage came from 'cause the 05:02 head was going like this and 05:04 the brain got all the shearing. 05:09 There was no alcohol or drugs 05:11 involved, just speed. 05:15 When the driver got out, Sarah 05:18 was immediately unconscious, 05:21 he was not, he did not lose 05:22 consciousness at all and his 05:25 phone was lost in the impact 05:28 and he was really upset, he 05:30 thought Sarah was dead 05:31 actually. 05:33 He was going to try to do CPR 05:36 and he knew-- he just panicked 05:39 and he knew he needed to get 05:41 help so he ran to the house 05:45 which was by the accident and 05:48 they called the paramedics. 05:49 The paramedics thought Sarah 05:51 was not breathing as well so 05:55 that's when they used the Jaws 05:57 of Life to get her out and 05:59 resuscitated her, stabilized 06:01 her as best they could and 06:02 transported her to Bowmanville 06:04 Hospital. 06:06 >> How did they transport her, 06:08 Cathy, were they able to get a 06:09 helicopter in to take her? 06:12 >> So initially the ambulance 06:14 arrived at the scene, 06:15 transported her to Bowmanville 06:18 ten minutes away then 06:20 Bowmanville emerg, they 06:23 intubated her, put her on life 06:26 support and got her stabilized. 06:29 They wanted to use the 06:31 helicopter, Ornge, but because 06:33 of the weather, Ornge wouldn't 06:35 fly so they had to transport 06:37 her by land. 06:40 >> So you're a nurse and you 06:41 were working at the hospital? 06:43 [CATHY] Yes, correct, I was an 06:44 RN working at Bowmanville and 06:47 so we heard the code called, 06:48 but you're not thinking it's 06:50 your daughter right? 06:51 [MIKE] No. 06:52 [CATHY] So that was around 06:54 2:20-ish that the code was 06:56 called and around 3:00 we were 07:00 out and I was scraping my car 07:02 because of all the snow and I 07:05 had my eldest daughter with me 07:08 as well and she got a call 07:11 from my husband and she said, 07:14 "Well, here, talk to Mom." 07:16 So I take the phone and he 07:18 says, "You better get back in 07:20 the hospital," and I said, 07:21 "Well, what do you mean?" 07:23 He said, "Well, Sarah's been 07:24 in a car accident," and I 07:26 said, "Oh, OK, is she OK?" and 07:30 he says, "Well, just go back 07:32 to the hospital." 07:34 So I'm getting a little 07:35 suspicious now, right, I just 07:37 didn't like the way the 07:39 conversation was going and I 07:41 said, "Well, did she hit 07:42 someone or did she-- you know, 07:44 what happened?" 07:45 He goes, "She wasn't driving 07:47 the car." 07:48 And as soon as he said that, I 07:50 just got a really bad feeling. 07:53 So Emily and I ran back into 07:56 the hospital to the emerg 07:58 department and trying to find 08:01 her and we're in the hall and 08:04 you could tell there was a lot 08:06 of chaos, like, something was 08:08 going on, but, again, we 08:10 didn't know it was Sarah and 08:13 so we waited and there was a 08:15 paramedic in the hall with a 08:19 patient on a stretcher because 08:22 the emerg was so backed up 08:25 because of Sarah and he said, 08:29 "Was your daughter in a car 08:31 accident?" and I said, "Yes," 08:33 and he says, "Oh, she's in 08:36 here," and he said, "They just 08:38 intubated her." 08:39 Now when you say that to a 08:41 nurse, like, I don't know how 08:44 I didn't just fall to the 08:46 ground because I'm thinking, 08:47 "Oh my goodness," I thought, 08:49 "Oh, an accident, maybe she's 08:51 broken an arm, a leg, or 08:54 something," right, and now 08:55 they're telling me that they 08:56 had intubated her. 08:59 And so-- now by this point, 09:01 some of my staff members, my 09:03 head nurse came down and they 09:05 were helping out and so they 09:07 got us in to see Sarah, 09:10 Emily and I. 09:12 >> So Sarah first came to the 09:15 hospital at Bowmanville where 09:17 you were working, Cathy, and 09:19 then they transferred her to 09:20 Toronto to the Sunnybrook 09:21 Hospital. 09:22 Tell us about that. 09:24 >> So they transferred her to 09:25 the trauma unit which has a 09:27 neuro unit and because Sarah 09:29 was head injury, that's where 09:31 they wanted her to go. 09:33 We had to travel separately, 09:35 my husband, my older daughter, 09:37 myself. 09:39 So we arrived there, we didn't 09:40 know where she was, we didn't, 09:42 you know, had to find her so 09:44 we're trying to, you know, 09:46 find out where she is and it's 09:49 so overwhelming, I just had to 09:51 pray, I just, I found a little 09:55 cube in the emerg that was 09:57 vacant and I just got on my 09:59 knees and I just prayed, it's 10:02 like a terrible feeling, but I 10:05 knew the Lord would hear me, 10:07 I was hoping. 10:09 >> And so what was the whole 10:11 process of, I mean, she was 10:14 unconscious so how did you 10:16 know that she was ever going 10:18 to be conscious again or did 10:20 you not know that? 10:21 [CATHY] No, you did not know 10:23 that and Sunnybrook, the 10:25 neurologist who was attending 10:27 Sarah, so she has to make it 10:32 through the night so the first 10:35 12 hours, then if she can make 10:37 it through 24 hours, then 48, 10:42 and if she can get to 72 10:45 that's what they kind of deem 10:47 that her chances increase 10:49 considerably. 10:51 So we literally just prayed 10:53 and prayed, like, constantly, 10:57 you know, so we get the first 10:59 12 in, then the 24, then the 11:02 48 and you just, you know, 11:05 it's just-- yeah... 11:06 >> So how long was she 11:08 unconscious for then, Cathy? 11:11 >> Almost three months. 11:15 But at Sunnybrook, they would 11:18 ask Sarah for a sign. 11:22 So people can always hear even 11:24 though they're not responding 11:26 so they would say, "Give us a 11:28 thumbs up," or "Wiggle your 11:30 toes," and she wouldn't really 11:32 respond to that, but when my 11:35 husband and I would ask for a 11:36 thumbs up, it would-- we would 11:39 sit there and we would watch, 11:41 watch, watch and I'm guessing 11:44 around ten seconds, you would 11:47 see Sarah's thumb go up about 11:49 halfway, every so slightly, 11:52 and I felt it was the delay 11:57 because of the swelling in the 11:58 brain, the message to do that 12:01 and for her to, you know, get 12:03 the strength to actually be 12:04 able to do that, it was 12:06 delayed. 12:09 But they felt it was too 12:11 delayed and they didn't wanna 12:12 count it, but we knew in our 12:15 hearts that Sarah was in there 12:19 and she was gonna come out. 12:21 [MIKE] Somehow the parents know 12:22 more than-- they know their 12:24 daughter really well. 12:26 So what other signs did you 12:28 see that gave you hope? 12:29 >> So my daughter, my older 12:33 daughter, Emily, and I, we 12:35 stayed in Toronto, I did not 12:37 leave, I never went home until 12:39 she was transferred back. 12:41 So we got there every morning 12:44 and as soon as I would go in 12:46 and I would say, "Good 12:47 morning, Sarah," her heart 12:49 rate would automatically go up 12:51 or if she heard Emily's voice, 12:54 like, substantially you could 12:57 see it go up and then, you 12:58 know, as we talked it would 13:00 settle back down so I knew 13:03 that she knew I was there and 13:05 she was in there. 13:08 And also a friend who was 13:09 helping us with chores 'cause 13:12 we have the horse farm, she 13:14 brought a recording for Sarah 13:16 and we played it for her and 13:18 she could hear-- you could 13:19 hear the horses playing in the 13:21 snow and running and her 13:23 friend would say, [clicks 13:25 tongue] like this, Sarah's 13:27 heart rate went up again so she 13:30 knew, of course she loves the 13:32 horses, so... 13:33 >> And then, Sarah, you had to 13:35 learn how to walk again? 13:38 Can you tell us about your 13:39 experience now after the 13:42 tragedy? 13:43 >> How long do you have? 13:45 [laughs] 13:50 Well, it was really slow, 13:55 painfully slow. 13:58 It was pretty awful. 14:02 I took it day by day and I 14:07 just prayed that the Lord 14:11 would help me through this. 14:14 [CATHY] Yeah, so physio worked 14:16 with Sarah, speech 'cause 14:19 Sarah couldn't talk, she did 14:21 not talk. 14:24 >> I could only whisper. 14:25 >> Yeah, she could only 14:27 whisper. 14:28 >> Really lightly. 14:30 >> No volume and then they 14:33 were getting worried that the 14:34 volume wasn't gonna come back, 14:36 but, again, we didn't give up, 14:38 we just kept praying and 14:39 working. 14:42 But I'll never forget the 14:44 first time they-- Sarah, they 14:47 were gonna sit her at the side 14:48 of the bed and I was so 14:50 excited. 14:52 So they get her up, they swing 14:54 her over and there's two 14:56 physio, one on either side, 14:58 and I'm just off to the side 15:01 and I'm like, "Oh, this is 15:03 fantastic," and they kind of 15:06 went to let go and Sarah just 15:09 started to do one of these, 15:11 like, right over and I'm like, 15:13 "Oh my goodness, she can't 15:14 even sit," right, and you're 15:17 waiting, like the build-up for 15:19 this that they're actually 15:20 moving her now out of the bed 15:22 and then she just was a 15:23 leaning, like this, but you 15:26 know what, again, never gave 15:28 up and every day they would 15:30 come and I was there all day 15:32 with her and then we'd get a 15:34 little bit so she could 15:36 actually hold it for a few 15:38 seconds and then, you know, 15:40 then it just kept continuing 15:43 that way. 15:45 >> So, Sarah, tell us about 15:47 your rehab. 15:49 >> I basically had to relearn 15:52 how to do everything from 15:56 brushing my teeth to 15:59 swallowing food to walking 16:04 was all wiped. 16:07 >> If I might just elaborate a 16:09 little bit on the learning to 16:11 re-walk, lots of times people 16:15 have injuries to their legs, 16:17 fractures, things like this, 16:19 multiple fractures, but they 16:21 still have their neural 16:22 pathways intact so the 16:24 messages will go to the legs 16:27 where Sarah, because of her 16:29 traumatic brain injury, she 16:30 had the shearing, she had to 16:33 re-- well, make new pathways. 16:37 So all her pathways were gone 16:39 that she was born with so now 16:41 she had to make all new 16:43 pathways and because of her 16:45 age, that was a good thing, 16:47 that helped a lot. 16:50 >> So were the doctors 16:53 surprised that she was even 16:57 walking or talking because of 17:00 the severe head injury that 17:02 she had? 17:04 >> Well, we never did see the 17:06 neuro surgeon again at 17:08 Sunnybrook so he doesn't know, 17:10 you just move on to the next 17:12 hospital, but Sarah truly is a 17:14 miracle, like, there's no 17:16 other way of saying it, she 17:19 truly is. 17:20 She's God's miracle. 17:23 >> So, Sarah, when you look 17:25 back, do you wish that this 17:26 had never happened to you, 17:27 that you never had the 17:29 accident? 17:30 >> Of course I wish it never 17:33 happened, but I was on a very 17:37 dark path. 17:40 I wasn't headed in the right 17:41 direction with my life. 17:45 There were drugs, boys, 17:49 alcohol, all mixed in a really 17:55 bad concoction. 17:58 >> So you were-- this was 18:00 before the accident. 18:01 [SARAH] Yes. 18:03 >> Did you feel like you knew 18:06 something was wrong? 18:07 >> Yes, I actually got on my 18:12 knees and prayed for God to 18:16 help me and to save me from 18:19 this life. 18:22 And He did. 18:24 >> So do you see the accident 18:26 as a way in which He 18:28 helped you? 18:29 >> Yes, a little drastic, but 18:34 that's OK. 18:37 >> So are you saying you're OK 18:39 with it now? 18:41 [SARAH] Yeah, I'm OK. 18:46 [CATHY] Sarah truly is my hero. 18:49 To have to witness and watch 18:51 what she went through, there's 18:55 nobody, you know, that I would 18:57 respect more just to watch how 18:59 hard she worked day after day 19:01 after day and struggling to 19:05 brush her teeth and swallow, 19:08 she couldn't eat for the 19:10 longest time and learning to 19:13 walk, I mean, it took-- it was 19:16 a long journey, but look at 19:18 her, I mean, you know? 19:21 >> So, Sarah, how do you see 19:23 the accident now? 19:26 >> I see it as a saving grace 19:31 and kind of a disappointment 19:35 almost 'cause I can't really 19:40 walk now and everything's much 19:44 harder than it really should 19:48 be, but I'm OK with it. 19:53 >> So, Sarah, can you tell us 19:55 how your faith has developed? 19:59 >> It has gotten a lot 20:01 stronger. 20:03 [CATHY] We would do daily 20:05 devotions every morning at 20:07 breakfast and we also go on 20:11 the computer and get scripts, 20:14 like meaningful scripts and we 20:17 would jot them down on pieces 20:18 of paper and then we had a 20:20 jar and we would pick them out 20:22 every once in a while and read 20:24 it just if we needed a boost 20:26 or something like that. 20:28 [MIKE] So those were scriptures 20:30 like Bible texts, verses from 20:31 the Bible? 20:32 [CATHY] Yes. 20:33 >> OK. 20:34 >> And, Sarah, you like 20:36 painting. 20:37 [SARAH] Yes. 20:39 >> And so how has that 20:40 developed your faith and 20:42 brought you closer to God? 20:44 >> Well, at first I tried to 20:49 paint God and me down at His 20:55 feet, but it wasn't going very 20:59 good so I had to scrap that 21:04 and I think God sent me to 21:12 acrylic pouring. 21:15 >> So acrylic pouring is a 21:17 type of painting that you can 21:20 do and it requires less 21:23 dexterity and fine motor skills. 21:26 Because of Sarah's head 21:28 injury, her control, she can't 21:30 always control, I guess. 21:33 With the acrylic pours, it 21:34 allows her to still be very 21:36 creative, but not have to 21:39 worry so much about, you know, 21:41 all the ink where she's... 21:43 >> Being perfect. 21:46 >> But you do have an 21:47 understanding of colours. 21:48 [SARAH] Yes. 21:49 >> So it'd be interesting 21:51 looking at some of those 21:52 paintings, they'd be quite 21:53 beautiful. 21:54 [CATHY] Recently Sarah took 21:56 some of her paintings to a 21:59 little local establishment 22:00 close to our house and people 22:02 have been purchasing them so 22:04 that is very nice. 22:07 >> So, Sarah, horses have 22:09 always been a big part of your 22:11 life and I can't believe that 22:17 you even would dare to do 22:20 something like this and so 22:22 when you decided to start 22:25 riding again, were you scared 22:27 to do that? 22:29 >> No. 22:31 >> Not in the least. 22:33 >> So can you tell us about 22:35 that experience of you riding 22:37 for the first time? 22:39 >> Well, I got to the 22:43 establishment and the lady 22:47 wanted me to sit on the saddle 22:53 sideways and then swing my one 22:59 leg over horse's neck and I 23:04 was not having any part 23:06 of that. 23:09 >> 'Cause that's not the right 23:11 way to mount a horse, right? 23:13 So what did you do? 23:15 >> I just swung my leg over 23:16 the horse. 23:18 [RENÉ] The correct way. 23:19 >> Yes. 23:20 >> Did you see this, Cathy? 23:22 [CATHY] Oh yeah, I was there 23:23 and it was a-- it's a 23:25 therapeutic riding 23:26 establishment, right, and this 23:28 is the very first day and so 23:31 we get there and the coach is 23:34 saying, you know, "You're 23:35 gonna sit on, swing your legs 23:37 over," and I see Sarah going 23:39 like this and I'm thinking, 23:41 "Oh my goodness, it's the 23:43 first day," and so I look at 23:46 the coach, she looks back at 23:47 me, she says, "OK, this is 23:49 what we're gonna do, you get 23:51 one try to get on your way, if 23:54 it doesn't work, you have to 23:55 get on my way." 23:57 She got it first try. 23:59 She impressed everybody 24:01 that day. 24:03 >> So tell us about your 24:05 riding now, are you you riding 24:07 now, do you still ride now? 24:09 [SARAH] Yes. 24:10 [RENÉ] And you're not afraid, 24:12 you're not scared? 24:13 [SARAH] No. 24:14 [RENÉ] You don't fall off? 24:16 Like, how's your balance? 24:19 [SARAH] It's pretty good, I 24:22 did have one fall, but that 24:24 was a while ago. 24:27 >> So who's more scared, you 24:28 or your mom? 24:29 >> My mom. 24:31 >> Yes, that's true. 24:33 >> So final question: do you 24:35 have any closing thoughts, 24:36 maybe there's a Bible verse 24:38 that you have and I know that 24:40 you had talked about praying, 24:42 that was a big part of the 24:45 whole process of seeing God's 24:48 miracle in her life, maybe you 24:49 can talk about that. 24:51 >> Yes, my older daughter and 24:53 myself, we had a path, I'm 24:56 sure, wore out to the chapel 24:58 at the two different 25:00 hospitals, just praying to God 25:02 to hear us and to to be with 25:05 Sarah and restore her. 25:08 Like I say, she's this living 25:10 miracle right here and this is 25:14 one verse that sustained me 25:16 through. 25:18 So it's Psalms 34, verse 17. 25:45 >> Cathy, those are beautiful 25:46 promises. 25:47 The Lord was really speaking 25:49 to you and you saw the miracle 25:53 of Sarah's life unfold right 25:55 in front of you. 25:57 So, Sarah, I wonder if I could 25:59 ask you to pray for our 26:01 viewers. 26:02 There might be someone that is 26:04 struggling and if you could 26:06 pray that they will receive 26:07 hope through listening to your 26:10 story. 26:11 [SARAH] Yes. 26:13 Dear Lord, please help anyone 26:17 that is struggling with 26:21 anything that may be going 26:24 wrong in their life right now 26:28 and help them get through it, 26:32 in the Lord's name, amen. 26:35 [MIKE & RENÉ] Amen. 26:37 >> Thank you so very much, 26:39 Sarah, for sharing your story 26:41 and, Cathy, for coming here to 26:42 It Is Written Canada and also 26:44 for Charlie Brown, your 26:46 emotional support dog. 26:47 >> Well, thank you, René and 26:49 Mike, for allowing us to tell 26:51 our story. 26:55 [SARAH] Thank you very much. 27:00 >> As Sarah and Cathy's story 27:02 reminds us, life is too often 27:05 so unfair, yet some people, 27:08 like Sarah, find their life 27:10 saved through tragedy. 27:13 You might be wondering how 27:14 does that work? 27:15 >> Our free offer, Changed For 27:17 Life, will show you how. 27:19 The incredible stories of 27:21 eight people who faced 27:23 unbelievable challenges will 27:25 give you hope. 27:27 >> Changed For Life will 27:29 remind you that no matter who 27:30 you are, where you are from, 27:32 or what kind of mess you find 27:35 yourself in today, God has a 27:37 special purpose for your life. 27:39 >> Changed For Life is about 27:41 you and how God desires to 27:44 change you today and for 27:46 eternity. 27:50 [RENÉ] You, too, can 27:51 experience the fullness of 27:52 life found in the words of 27:54 Jesus when He said... 28:07 ♪♪ 28:20 >> You're a movie star! 28:23 You're a movie star! 28:25 [giggles] 28:27 [smooch] 28:28 >> Charlie, don't get Mom 28:31 in trouble. 28:32 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-12-20