By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-13 20:35:01 | Updated at 2025-01-17 15:22:07
3 days ago
A Wisconsin high school student was left paralyzed after a horrific truck crash while on an out-of-state trip.
Evelyn Laux, 17, was visiting a friend in rural St. Paul, Nebraska, on January 3 when she convinced him to let her drive his truck.
She lost control of the vehicle, and while over-correcting the steering wheel, it flipped upside down, obliterating the truck.
'Evelyn was thrown into the backseat and pinned in a twisted position until the amazing rescue workers were able to remove her from the vehicle using the jaws of life,' a GoFundMe page for the family said.
The teen's friend was thrown from the truck and miraculously walked away with minor injuries.
Her parents - Connie and Tyson 'T.J.' Laux - told WISN their daughter's iPhone and Life 360 app alerted them to the crash.
They immediately drove the 620 miles from their home in Waterford, Wisconsin, to be by their daughter's side in Nebraska.
'The neurosurgeon told us that it was not a life-threatening injury, and she was going to be okay, but she was going to be paralyzed, likely as her spine was literally broke in half,' Connie said.
Evelyn Laux, 17, was visiting a friend in rural St. Paul, Nebraska, on January 3 when she convinced him to let her drive his truck
She lost control of the vehicle and while over-correcting the steering wheel, it flipped upside down, obliterating the truck
'After five hours, the neurosurgeon was able to successfully fuse her mangled spine back together,' the GoFundMe said.
'The spinal cord, however, was severed, so all function for bowel, bladder, sensation, and movement below her belly button has ceased.'
Her parents said the high school junior is starting to come to terms with her new reality.
'The first thing my daughter said to me was I am so sorry. The next comment was I will never be able to play softball, ride a horse, or be a veterinary surgeon,' the fundraiser said.
Photos show the teen playing various sports, winning horseback riding ribbons and doing karate.
'She loves just about everything,' her father said. 'She hunts, fishes, snowmobiles, horseback riding. She loves animals.'
While the Laux family are working to return to Wisconsin, they said they are trying to keep Evelyn motivated through her recovery.
'We are doing everything possible to encourage her and give her positive things to look forward to,' the family said.
The high school junior was left paralyzed from the belly button down
Her parents said the first thing she told them after she woke up was, 'I'm so sorry'
Her parents said the high school junior is starting to come to terms with her new reality
'Evelyn will have to learn how to be independent, but this may require several years of assistance before that can happen.'
The teen is working to sit up in her hospital bed and may have to go to a rehabilitation facility in Colorado before she returns home.
The Laux's said they are raising funds to perform a major remodel of their home to make it wheelchair accessible.
