Last week, in Berkeley, California, six Irish students and on American died after a balcony they were standing on collapsed. While US prosecutors investigate the rot that caused the balcony to collapse, one of the seven survivors of the tragedy has sent a Facebook status out.
Clodagh Cogley, 21, explained that she suffered ‘2 collapsed lungs, a broken shoulder, a broken knee, 5 broken ribs and a broken spinal cord…Meaning the chances of me using my legs again are pretty bleak.’
That said, she’s still hopeful that a full recovery can be made: ‘Not the best odds but I’m moving to a great rehabilitation centre here in San Francisco for 2 months (it has dog therapy [dog emoji, heart emoji] and intend to give it everything I’ve got.’
She added, with a sort of positivity/dark humour that we’re in awe of: ‘Who knows maybe legs have been holding me back all these years and I’ll relaise my talent for wheelchair basketball.’
The root of her positivity is that she’s just so grateful to be alive at this point: ‘The thing I’m taking from this tragedy is that life is short and I intend to honour those who died by living the happiest and most fulfilling life possible.’
And as a note to anyone reading (someone’s screengrabbed it and it’s now doing the rounds on Twitter), she said: ‘Enjoy a good dance and the feeling of grass beneath your feet like it’s the last time because in this crazy world you never know when it might be.’
Excuse use we’re just going for a cry and a cartwheel because…wow. What a humbling message of support for us at Clodagh’s time of need. Everything said, we still hope so hard that she makes a full recovery.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.