Two weeks before the opening night for the fall play, senior Sadie Behrman was walking home from play practice and was hit by a car at the corner of City Line Ave and Route 29. She was rushed to Paoli Hospital, and immediately admitted to surgery. A rod was inserted into her leg and a metal plate into her arm. She was unconscious for three days. Sadie was bedridden for weeks; she couldn’t walk, couldn’t pick things up, and couldn’t do anything for herself. But none of this has dramatically changed Sadie – and she’s happy it hasn’t.
Sadie doesn’t remember the accident. ‘My poor mother has just been the best,’ Sadie said. ‘She’s done everything. She’s done all the medications, all the doctor’s appointments, and all the forms. care of me, then maintaining a house also, somehow. I was an invalid for a really long time.’
After spending a week in the hospital, Sadie went to rehab center for three weeks, and then rested at home. She was out of school for three months. By the end of the first month, she missed going out of the house, and getting to see people other than her family. The main reason she missed school was her friend Isla, though she joked she missed ‘the lukewarm food and the oppressive nature of the teachers.’
Sadie has a lot of work to catch up on. ‘Right now it just kind of sucks,’ she said. She missed a lot of opportunities, one opportunity being the chance to submit a short story for the Scholastic Art and Writing contest. She was also supposed to play the Nurse in the Fall Play, ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ The part was filled in by Senior Ashley Spina at the last minute.
The hardest part of the recovery for Sadie was the detoxing process. For three months she was on Percocet, which is an addictive painkiller for mild to severe pain. ‘For a week I just felt weepy and sobby. I was throwing up and couldn’t keep anything down. I was jumpy and bouncing a lot. It was just awful,’ she said. She joked, ‘So, don’t do drugs, and stay in school.’
For Sadie, the most dramatic change in her life is that she is more careful about crossing the street. There are no psychological effects as far as Sadie can tell. ‘I’ll always have a rod in my leg and a metal plate in my arm, but other than that I don’t think it will ever have any long-term effects. I know I’m supposed to say , but I’m really happy that I don’t feel any different. I want to be the same person.’
Sadie’s favorite subjects are English and Philosophy, but she likes learning about everything. ‘I love doing everything,’ she said. Her favorite teachers are Ms. Speckhals, Mr. Gamble, Mr. Hughes, and she says Mr. Curley is ‘an okay guy.’
Sadie also loves reading. ‘I will read till the cows come home,’ she said. Her favorite book right now is ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’ and she said, ‘I recommend it to girls across the country!’ Sadie also enjoys martial arts, playing volleyball, and writing short-stories and essays. Sadie writes poetry for Gazebo. She volunteers, and teaches little kids how to read.
Sadie plans to go to Temple University for English pre-law, and then she is going to go on to law school. She wants to be a lawyer, and maybe work her way into politics.
Sadie may be known for the car accident, but doesn’t define who she is. Sadie has a great sense of humor. She likes to volunteer, read, write, and learn. Her three favorite TV shows are ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘The Walking Dead,’ and ‘Downton Abbey.’ Some bands she likes are Genesis, Cake, and Cold War Kids. She has a younger sister in eighth grade named Fiona. They have a dog named Angel, and two cats named Louie and Pluto. These things make up who Sadie is, not her accident.
Editor’s note: Soren DeMartinis is a writer for Phoenixville Area High School’s newspaper, The Purple Press.
