The story of a girl he chose to live

A young woman overcame the trauma of a terrible accident. "This is a happy story," he says.

Walk confidently through the halls of Children's Rehabilitation Institute in Santiago de Chile, despite a slight limp. In this city of six million people, even across the nation, are very familiar with just his 27 years of age. Daniela Garcia is author of the bestseller "I chose to live" and refuses to be known only as "the girl who suffered a terrible accident." Neither likes to describe what happened as a tragedy. "This is a happy story," he says.

You do not mind that their young patients, many of whom have significant disabilities or diseases like muscular dystrophy, stare curiously. He knows that his condition means that they too will have to find their own courage and endurance, as your life unfolds. Nor care to be asked, with the natural openness of the children: "Why lame? Why have hooks instead of hands? ". "I like. Creates a bond between us, "she says.

Until 30 October 2002, Daniela Garcia led comfortable and carefree life of a girl brought up in a family of upper class and educated in Chile. Excellent student with high grades, she loved biology and joined the Faculty of Medicine of the PUC. In the last week of that October, Daniela was 22 and he was in the last month of his fourth year. He had a serious boyfriend for four years, Richard Strube, a young handsome and athletic.

By that time, approached the hot days of summer and were about to begin final exams. It was also the period of the Games Inter-School of Medicine, competitive annual tradition involving almost all medical students in the country. That year was to be held in Temuco, a city of 260,000 inhabitants, situated some 250 km south of Santiago. But she was not sure she wanted to attend. He worried about an upcoming test of Dermatology, one of his best friends would not go, and the journey there was expensive and involved a few hours by train, and night. Also had a strange and unpleasant feeling about the trip.

For several days his companions insisted that accompany them: they needed their soccer skills on the computer. Finally relented. However, when he reached the railroad station that Wednesday night, her fear only increased. Nationalized railway system had arranged extra trains with old wagons. To Daniela did not like how the windows were dirty and peeling paint. Calm down, he said. The railway is safe.

When the train started heading south, students took guitars and started singing and dancing. "Dance with us," he insistently asked a few friends. But tonight I did not want. She sat and tried to look at the scenery. At about 10, little more than an hour after the start of the journey, two friends asked to accompany them to other cars to see if they knew some of the students on board. As they walked from car to car, a friend was in front and another behind it. The ceiling lights were melted down and was difficult to see. Daniela did not know he was not in place that normally covers the bridge the gaps between the coupling of wagons. The train entered a long curve and the gap widened further.

Daniela took a step and felt himself falling into the void. Daniela's friends noticed that suddenly disappeared. A passenger who was smoking next said, "Hey, this girl just fell!

Daniela was a sense that pulling it from side to side. Then, as if waking from a dream disorienting, was in the middle of the tracks on a dark night.

He felt no pain, but I had blood gushing from a small injury and deep over the left eye. He moved his left hand to remove the hair from her eyes. Nothing happened. He tried again and nothing. Puzzled, he raised his head and looked at his left hand was not. He then looked the other arm and the horror grew: they were also severed the hand and forearm. Open wounds were bleeding heavily. She tried to move and a wave of pain pierced his body.

Daniela does not like to remember what he saw below. His left leg amputated from the hip and knee. It lacked a portion of the right leg. It was almost unbearable to see who had all four limbs affected.

He realized that another train could move at any time. I had to depart from the ways and get help early, or die. Somehow, despite massive injuries and pain, managed to lift the back and away from the tracks, turning around. However, he could not move any further. She started screaming: "Help me! Please help me! ". By chance, at that time, Ricardo Morales, a rural worker, walked by, heard cry and ran to her.

"Do not move. Seek help, "said frightened. He ran to the phone that was in the service station. When he saw and heard his voice Morales, Daniela felt the first wave of hope, however, waiting for his return, began to fade. I must not lose faith, he said

Emergency Services sent an ambulance in Rancagua 4 minutes. Victor Solis paramedic he had little hope they found the victim alive. When they reached the girl moaned. Despite losing a huge amount of blood, Daniela remained lucid. He even began to recite their name, their parents, their phone numbers and those of his uncles. "Shhh! Keep silent. Keep calm, "said the doctor. The others came running down the track with a rigid stretcher and more equipment.

"Is she dead?" They asked. "Am I dead?" Asked Daniela. No, it could be.

"I'm not dead," cried Daniela, and his strength started to doctors.

The team worked quickly, especially stopped bleeding in each member. In this they heard a rumble and felt vibrating channels: another train coming. Stay with it would be risky, but neither had time to get it out.

"A train is coming," Solis told. "We gotta go. Will return immediately. "

"Do not leave me!" Daniela shouted, as the team began to save just in time.

Daniela felt the chill and wind blow as the train passed over it near. It seemed to never end up going. On one side, unable to see her, Solis also had the impression that the train was infinite. As soon as he ran back to the girl's side, and were relieved to have survived. The rose and the ambulance arrived at the hospital quickly. To all the people she saw, she asked them: "Will I be okay?". Only in an elevator on his way to the operating room to operate their severed limbs, a doctor calmly replied: "You'll be perfectly". For the first time since the accident, Daniela could finally relax. I did everything I could. It's in the hands of doctors, he thought. Now only wished to rest. He closed his eyes.

The phone call from Rancagua home of the Garcia arrived a little after 11 pm. The hospital refused to provide details but told them they should go immediately. They arrived after a journey that took an hour.

Meanwhile Ricardo, Daniela's boyfriend, got a call from some friends who were on the train. When Daniel disappeared, some tried to stop the train, they said, but staff did not believe that someone could have fallen. A relative took him to hospital where he joined the family.

Daniela A day was taken to Santiago. He spent six weeks in hospital with daily visits from Ricardo, the family and friends. The hardest part of the cure was deal with pain and phantom sensations in their limbs severed. Over time, through meditation and reiki-Japanese therapy that aims to manipulate the energy fields of body-learned how to mitigate and control the neural responses most of the time.

Daniela's father sought the best place that could provide prosthetics to give her daughter and would require extensive rehabilitation. He chose the famous Moss Rehabilitation Institute, Albert Einstein University, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Daniela was a snowy Saturday in February for a stay of six weeks. Every day working with a team learning to walk, eat and perform other activities of daily life with artificial limbs.

Daniela established a special bond with the unit head, Dr. Alberto Esquenazi. Not only spoke Spanish, but had lost his right hand in a laboratory explosion. In its place was a silver hook wearing factly. It gave him hope.

Just four days after arriving and two after the prosthetic team will take action, saw his first pair of artificial legs. When I grabbed his leg and the physiotherapist Mary Lucas helped her upright, he felt pure joy. For the first time since the accident, might look to someone else's eyes. She cried with happiness. He had great strength and determination.

He achieved extraordinary progress, and soon learned the technique of using the back muscles, attached to wires, to open and close the hooks on their hands. Shortly holding and manipulating objects. He became so expert that he could skillfully applied eye makeup and weave. However, the team was concerned at the possibility that he was on the verge of a crisis. He was too optimistic. But already there she realized that things would never again be as before, and sometimes the tears ran down when forced to accept that reality.

The doctor told her: "You will always miss your hands. Nothing we do here will never replace what you lost. However, you have options. You can hide in a corner and never leave, or you can accept the challenge and learn to do your best with what you have. " Daniela knew she was right, despite its moments of sadness, surrendered with all his might to physiotherapy.

She decided to cling to the words of Esquenazi: "Your life is what you do with it."

After six weeks at the Institute Moss flew to Santiago with his family. Ricardo was waiting at the airport. The first saw when he was heading with his new prosthesis, and his characteristic big smile and enthusiastic. It was a jubilant, and doubts about whether he could stay with him is completely obliterated.

A few months later, Daniela returned to Moss for another term, to hone their prosthesis and learn to drive a car again. He had a moment of intense joy when he learned the delicate balance of biking with their artificial limbs.

Almost exactly a year after his accident re-joined the Faculty of Medicine, determined not to accept any special treatment and prosper or fail according to their own abilities. It would be a rehabilitation specialist, like Dr. Esquenazi. With commitment achieved better grades than ever, and eventually became the first quadrilateral amputee care in the world.

In November 2003, after an episode in which through their presence, a television program was able to raise funds for sick children, Daniela decided that although it was not a writer, wanted to tell her story her way. Gradually, writing short passages in his spare time, related the details of the accident and rehabilitation, pressing letter by letter into your computer. One morning I awoke with a compulsion that I had to finish the book. I was not sure he would publish it, but wanted to try. He was amazed when the renowned publishing house Random House acquired the rights. The first edition of "I chose to live" was soon exhausted. For 2008 was in its fourteenth edition. She had become a well known figure and a literary sensation.

Now people all over India will send letters to tell how their history has inspired and infused them courage to face the challenges of his own life to make the most of whatever fate that lie, to pursue happiness . Daniela holds all the cards in a special trunk, the trunk of happiness. "I wrote the book because I found it therapeutic. It helped me to relieve myself. I did not know it would help many other people and that is very special to me. "

Now note that there is little they can do. A special knob on the steering wheel let you manage your truck. He likes bike riding. She loves cooking. You can even feel in some way with their hooks, as when palpating a lump under the skin of their patients.

"It feels different. Not really feeling, but I sense something. Humans have the ability to compensate and the brain learns to interpret the information. I can not explain, but I really feel with hooks".

Her relationship with Richard has been booming. In March 2007, after the couple made a trip to Europe, he proposed. He had planned for months. "To be honest, when the accident occurred did not know how it would affect us, what to do with our relationship. If Daniel had complained all the time he had lost, maybe I could not stand it. But she did not behave well at all. It has allowed the accident to define or limit. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. " In September 2007, in front of 300 family and friends, the couple married and then danced all night. Soon, they plan to start a family.

Daniela's goals now are the same as before the accident: be a good medical rehabilitation in both their professional skills and in dealing with patients (to help them overcome their trauma and injuries and readjust to living a full life), be a loving wife and someday a mother.

However, the most important thing is that he wants to focus not on what has been lost, but his life as a wonderful gift, a source of happiness, always remembering the words he said when they met Dr. Esquenazi: "Your life will be what do it. "