LEXINGTON, S.C. — Six months ago, River Bluff High School Principal Jacob Smith and his family went through a life-altering experience. The family was on vacation in Hawaii this summer when they were involved in a horrible car accident.
As the holiday season approaches, they're thankful for the miracle of good health again, making strides in their healing journey.
"I feel like I'm hitting play again, and I'm still lagging a little bit, like video is still lagging, but I'm still hitting play, and it's still moving forward now," daughter Bekah Smith said.
From the car accident in June to coming home in August to being home for Christmas now, Bekah Smith is reaching new strides in her journey back to who she was before an accident on a family vacation.
"I think it's just been an incredible journey of trials and tribulations, but also seeing just the capacity of love, the capacity of community, the capacity for healing," Jacob Smith said.
The Smith family was in Hawaii for a long-planned family vacation when a car crash left Bekah with severe injuries to her spine and brain.
"I don't remember any of Hawaii," Bekah Smith said.
Her parents, Jacob and Crystal, have seen their daughter go from neck surgery to breathing on her own to talking and walking.
"Finding a purpose again is really important and was really good for me," Bekah Smith said.
Her days are filled with occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, and learning to play the piano.
Some days, she said, have been challenging, relearning skills she once knew. But other days have been filled with joy that once seemed far-reaching.
After the accident, the Liberty University student didn't think she could go back to study in Virginia.
"My mom came into my room one morning, and I thought she was going to tell me I had therapy or something I needed to do. It was like nine o'clock in the morning, and she's like, 'What if I told you you get to go back,' and I immediately started crying," Bekah Smith said.
"Jacob made a call and it was within 24 hours that the president and a friend of ours had coordinated it where they said absolutely, she can come back. She can come back tomorrow," mother Crystal Smith said.
Now Bekah is home for Christmas. She said even taking her one theology class this semester has been a gift and a miracle.
"I have a lot of hope right now. I'm kind of just in this place of like, alright, I'm grateful to be alive and I just will take anything that comes my way with loose hands," Bekah Smith said.
Bekah said she'll work with a physical therapist on her neck mobility while home on Christmas break.
She says if all goes well, she can start driving again next semester and will take four classes.