Supporting Sarah to have an independant life

Sarah Ward was a carefree Wairarapa teenager, until earlier this year when she hit her head hard at the wrong angle when diving into a pool.

After crushing a bone in her neck, 17-year old Sarah was left tetraplegic which means that all of her limbs have been affected. Immediately after the accident she was flown to Christchurch and operated on that night. She then spent 4½ weeks in intensive care on a ventilator, learning to breathe again with different muscles.

Sarah still needs operations where nerve transplants will be connected to her fingers and, later on, tendons will be transferred to her upper arms to help the triceps. Unfortunately, even after all of this, Sarah will never walk again and her life is forever changed.

Sarah was about to start Year 12 at school this year but with the accident, a lot has been put on hold. Sarah was due to sit her restricted driver's license the week after her accident – she loved to drive. She had a part time job at the Mitre 10 café which she'd only started a couple months before; she'd enjoyed working there with the staff and the contact with the customers.

Sarah has come home to the Wairarapa and whilst ACC pays for her day to day care, her needs are lifelong and significant. Things every teenager takes for granted are now extremely difficult or impossible. Sarah has always worked hard and was looking forward to the independence that comes with becoming a young woman and going to university. We are fundraising so that Sarah can have still have as independent a future as possible by customising a home she can feel safe in and call her own.