Countryfile host Sammi Kinghorn has opened up about the terrifying incident that left her fearing she would die.
The 28 year old, who is also a world champion wheelchair racer, grew up on a Scottish farm with her parents Neil and Elaine, and her brother. She has fond memories of her childhood but one event when she was just 14 changed everything.
In December 2010, their family farm was hit by a severe snowstorm. Sammi recalls her father being “overwhelmed” as livestock perished and locals found themselves cut off.
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One day, while playing on the farm with a friend, Sammi saw Neil operating his forklift. As reported by OK! magazine, she remembered her dad “beeping his horn and laughing,” and the two friends were jumping around nearby, reports the Mirror.
(Image: No credit)
For reasons she still doesn’t fully understand, she decided to climb onto part of the forklift, possibly to “show off” to other kids in the area. Unaware that Sammi had climbed onto the machinery, Neil lowered the forklift bucket he’d been using to clear snow, which landed on top of her.
Speaking to the Daily Mail last year, Sammi said she remembers feeling “pressure” on her neck and initially thought her dad was “joking” but had “gone a bit too far”. The presenter recounted her terrifying ordeal, saying she suddenly started “screaming,” as she felt her back “popping” and her “head was in [her] crotch”.
(Image: Instagram/Sammi Kinghorn)
Sammi described being “crushed right down” into a “tiny ball”. She recalled: “My heart was thumping in my chest. Everything felt really slow and all I could hear was my breath. I remember closing my eyes and thinking ‘you’re going to die, and your Dad’s going to think it’s his fault’.”
After the accident, Sammi opened her eyes to find she couldn’t feel her legs, although she could still move them. She then collapsed onto a pile of compacted snow, feeling her legs “pulsing” and “twitching,” marking the last time she had any sensation in them.
(Image: Getty Images)
Despite her initial fears about her dad’s reaction, Sammi eventually confessed to her parents that her injuries were not from a simple slip in the snow but from the accident, after a hospital visit and a chat with the doctor made it clear her injuries were inconsistent with her story.
Neil, her father, who had always warned his children about the dangers of farming machinery, shared his shock and numbness upon learning of the accident, stating that it “blew [the family’s] life to pieces”.
Sammi, now paralysed from the waist down, told the outlet that she sees her paralysis as a “consequence” of her “doing something silly”. Now a world champion wheelchair racer, double Paralympic medalist and the world record holder for the T53 1500m, Sammi has an impressive list of sporting achievements.
In addition to her athletic career, she got engaged last year to her partner Callum, has taken on a role as a TV presenter and has been awarded an MBE.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
