Florida teen turns passion for swimming into athletic victories — years after DUI crash left her paralyzed
ST PETERSBURG Fla WSVN A life-changing accident could have ended one Florida teen s athletic dreams Instead it gave her a brand-new passion and purpose Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Matthews is turning trauma into triumph one stroke at a time nearly a decade after a wrong-way crash I was hit by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the highway she declared Matthews stated she can t remember much from that horrible night in June of I don t think it really set in until I woke up and I couldn t feel anything she commented The wreck left Matthews paralyzed from the chest down OK this doesn t feel right I think it hit when I got into a wheelchair for the first time she mentioned This is the new normal apparently ' Now a freshman at Gibbs High School in St Petersburg Matthews has discovered her passion for swimming thanks to her therapist who recommended water therapy It kind of just makes me feel like I m a normal kid in the water but it makes my body feel like it doesn t have the weight to it announced Matthews Matthews is competing with other children her age in the pool and that comes with specific obvious challenges It s definitely tough cause I m trying to catch up when they re going twice as fast as I am cause they can use their legs and I have to use my arms she mentioned So I have to work times harder that everybody else I feel but I don t know It s just that s just kind of what I feel like I just have to work harder That hard work is proven with the seconds she s shaved off in the -meter freestyle She s been pretty consistent explained Andrew Campbell the teen s coach She dropped seven seconds in one race a couple of week s ago which is a critical time drop Campbell declared he is inspired by Matthews drive Perseverance is really the big thing I want everyone to take away You know she was dealt a really bad hand at a really young age and spent the bulk of her life in a wheelchair he mentioned Now here she is competing against able-bodied swimmers and going to regionals and hopefully going to states so it s a big deal Matthews acknowledged the wheelchair is part of her story It made me realize be grateful for what you have cause you don t know how long you re going to have it for she commented But she s just a regular teenager living life on her own terms As long as if you like doing something say Hey this is something I like doing and I m going keep trying to do it to my best of my new normal she explained Matthews announced she has competed at the Special Olympics and she may choose to swim competitively in college
