Stronger than a Speeding Locomotive

Born in Santiago, Chile, Daniela Garcia was a promising 22 year-old medical student that was about 1 month away from finishing her studies in one of Chile’s toughest medical schools. Following in the footsteps of her parents, both of which were doctors, she was well on her way until her life took a momentous detour in a horrible train accident where she lost her limbs but luckily survived to tell the tale.

Daniela along with a few of her friends were on their way to another city to take part in some inter-university games. Despite her initial hesitations, call it a gut feeling NOT to take the trains that day, Daniela agreed to hop on board. Her persisting uneasiness continued as she was riding along due to the obvious dilapidated condition of the trains. The bad condition of the carriage spread itself across to the next car, specifically the gap that connected the two trains – where she fell.

The floor of that section was broken as she and her friends were crossing. The lights that were supposed to light the pathway were also not working properly. Coupled with the train taking a wide bend, all three factors found themselves meeting at the same time Daniela decided to take a step from one car to the other. For those of us who have ridden trains before, it’s scary to think how often you change cars in the course of a trip…Oof!

She fell through the gap, but miraculously survived. The shock must have been so immense that when she regained consciousness, she didn’t feel a thing. She quickly realized however, that her limbs had been amputated by the train – both her forearms and hands had been severed, her right leg below and knee, and her left leg from above the knee.

Her friends had realized what had happened and quickly sounded the alarm, but the train crew refused to believe that someone could fall from that gap, so they continued on without stopping. UNREAL. With much pleasure, we later learned that she had sued the train company and settled out of court.

After her wounds healed up, she spent almost an entire year in physical therapy where she learned to master prosthetic limbs. Shortly thereafter, Daniela was able to drive a car and even ride a bicycle! As part of the recovery process, she also decided to take up on writing to share her story which lead to publishing a book about the accident and the journey of her rehabilitation. As aspiring as that is, Daniela continued to shock the globe by finishing her medical degree and becoming the world’s first quadrilateral amputee physician.

Like the doctors who helped get her life back after the accident, she continues to help others on the same tough journey. Believe it or not!