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, Custom Soccer Jerseys 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, ac milan jersey 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, arsenal jersey 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, chelsea jersey 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, england soccer jersey 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, spain soccer jersey 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, brazil soccer jersey 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.
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