Teen shares story of lost limbs after crash, electric shock

A western Quebec woman who lost her arms and legs after crashing into a hydro pole lastChristmas Evesays she's hoping to return to school and start a family with someone she met in rehabilitation.

SabrynaMongeon, 19,suffered a severe electric shock in the crash, andthen spent hours in the cold before she was rescued.

"I honestly believe that God gives a test to someone so that theyovercome it,"Mongeontold Radio-Canada in a French-language interview Wednesday from her father's home in Laval, Que.

"Even during the accident, it was never an option to let me die. It never crossed my mind.I was in survival mode."

Sabryna Mongeon re-learns how to walk

7 years ago

Duration 0:33

Sabryna Mongeon, whose arms and legs were amputated following a collision with a hydro pole in December 2017, is learning to walk again with prosthetics.

14,500 volts

On Dec. 24, 2017, Mongeonleft her mother's home in Luskville, Que., to visit a friend in Gatineau, taking a less congested route because of the bad weather.

After the crash, her sister Samantha told The Canadian Pressthe hydro pole landed on Mongeon's vehicle.

Whenshe stepped outside, "an electrical charge of 14,500 volts" enteredthrough her hands, coursed through her body and exited through her feet.

She remained conscious for four hours andtried to get back into her car, her sister said,but wasn't able to start it to get some heat.

Eventually a passerby offered help.

Mongeon was taken to hospital and placed in a medically inducedcoma.

OnDec. 27, after being woken up, shedecided to have her arms and legs amputated.

Long recovery

Mongeon spoke with Radio-Canada Wednesday after being discharged from theGingras-Lindsay-de-Montral Rehabilitation Institute, where she had been recovering.

Adapting to life with artificial limbs has been difficult at times, she said.

"With the hot days we had this summer, it's harder with prosthetics. It's not always comfortable," she said. "My left leg hurts. That's one of the reasons why I usecrutches to walk."

Shehasplans to return to school in the near future to become a naturopathand also hopes to become a public speaker.

She also said she's planning to start a family with her boyfriend, a Canadian Armed Forces member she met in rehabilitation after an autoimmune disease caused him to losethe use of his legs for six months.

Mongeon said herfamily is alsobuilding a special home for her,usingmoney from a crowdfunding campaign that raised nearly $200,000.

Land hasalready been purchased in Laval so she canstay close to the rehabilitation facility, she said.