St. Charles teen with severed leg walks, runs, swims
Her mind foggy from a concussion, her body recovering from one surgery after the next and her soul adjusting to the idea of life without her left leg or childhood friend, Lexi Youngberg felt broken.
The emptiness briefly consumed the St. Charles teen as she lay in her hospital bed with no memory of the accident that put her there, listening as her mom described the otherwise beautiful September 2009 evening on Michigan's Spring Lake.
How a ski boat full of teenagers going 50 mph ran over the Sea Doo carrying Lexi and her two longtime friends.
How the collision knocked her unconscious and severed her leg mid-shin.
How the friend, 15-year-old Robby Jerovsek, was crushed and died in the water.
She'd never get to do anything again, Lexi recalls saying.
But she knew the words weren't true as soon as she uttered them, and right then she decided to accept her new reality and try to excel in it. She figured God doesn't make mistakes, and He wasn't about to start with her.
More than 20 months later, the Wheaton Academy senior — a stylish social butterfly, talented varsity soccer player and devout Christian — continues to embrace her new path and the different models of prosthetic legs she's using to walk it.
“Some people don't believe that I'm happy, that my smile's not genuine, that I don't get discouraged and depressed, that I never lose my faith,” said Lexi, now 18. “Well, believe it. That's just me.”
From the beginning, Lexi made it her mission to blow past milestones doctors thought might take her a lifetime of struggle to achieve.
By Thanksgiving after the accident, she was walking without crutches, thumbing her nose at the recommendation to use a cane. She rotates between customized athletic, dress, wakeboard and swimming legs, and soon will add a fifth prosthetic for running.
“I toughed it out,” she said. “What girl my age wants to use a cane? My friends gave me piggyback rides if the pain was too much to take.”
This spring, thanks to her unparalleled work ethic and countless rehab and training sessions, Lexi left the sideline where she'd spent all of last season for a spot on the soccer field as a forward for the Wheaton Academy Warriors.
Her tactical game has changed, of course, as has the team's approach around her.
Instead of playing outside midfielder where long passes and lots of running are required, she's moved to a center spot up front so there's less ground to cover. And she has to come off the field several times during a game to wipe away sweat that pools in her prosthesis.
Despite her limitations, coach Scott Marksberry said he has yet to read an ounce of frustration, negativity or disappointment on Lexi's face. He recalls an especially difficult preseason workout last spring when Lexi, just a few months removed from the accident, jumped in.
“Somebody was complaining about how tough it was, and then we all realized Lexi was doing the core work and push-ups, too,” Marksberry said. “Her resolve to come back has eliminated anybody else's ability to complain.”
When she plays, Robby, the Michigan friend who, before he died, told others to leave him and check on Lexi, is never far from her heart.
She wears a neon green band with his initials on her left shoe, while her teammates wear a band with the word “promise,” a reference to one of Lexi's favorite Bible verses.
“We prayed she would live and she did. Then we prayed she would walk again and she did. Then that she could play, which seemed like such a crazy notion,” Marksberry said. “We've seen God's promises fulfilled the whole way through.”
Still, Lexi has her moments.
She takes medication to cope with blisters, phantom pain, nerve pain and pain that plain hurts.
She gets headaches after reading for 15 minutes because of the concussion she suffered. And she's left with digestive issues and a large abdominal scar because her gall bladder was removed in the hours after the accident.
But through the organization Adaptive Adventures and camps in Colorado, Lexi has gotten to know other teens with disabilities and finds comfort in knowing her trials are not unique.
“I basically learned my injury is like a paper cut compared to some other people,” said Lexi, who's told her story to youth soccer teams, her school and community fundraisers. “It puts things in perspective for me.”
She's also grateful her injury happened during an age of advanced adaptive sports technology. Her prosthetist's office is even pushing her to participate in triathlons or the Paralympics, ventures the gifted athlete is considering. She finds ski racing particularly appealing.
When she's not on the slopes or in the water, Lexi's journey will next take her to either Hope or Westmont — Christian colleges in Michigan and California. There she'll pursue her new dream to become a physical therapist so she can help other kids with disabilities.
“Before my accident, I had no idea what I wanted to be,” Lexi said. “Now it's like my faith has grown, and I have purpose and meaning to live it out.”
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