PHOENIX — For 12-year-old Elena Leale, playing softball and running to first will never be taken for granted again.
Because she almost lost the ability to run three years ago.
Three years ago on Thanksgiving, Elena took a ride with a family member on a side-by-side vehicle.
"It’s totally a normal thing for them to ride on that side-by-side. It’s street legal,” said Pamela Leale, Elena's mom.
However, Elena said the family member behind the wheel was driving quickly, speeding over speed bumps. Then she said she blacked out as she was thrown from the vehicle.
“And I opened my eyes, and it was on top of me, and I couldn’t feel anything,” Elena said.
The four-wheel side-by-side pinned Elena to the ground. Her mom said it removed most of the flesh along her right leg. She broke both feet, her right tibia, and fibula.
“We didn’t really know if she was going to have her leg. At one point, there was no pulse in the leg,” Pamela said.
Elena would be rushed to Phoenix Children's Hospital and go into surgery that night.
Dr. Timothy Schaub was one of the doctors on call.
“This is something that is not a simple fix,“ Dr. Schaub said.
That night would be the first of nine surgeries for Elena. Doctors would take skin and muscle from her back to replace what was missing from her right leg.
Another surgery would take veins from her left leg to make a new artery in her right leg.
“She’s an incredible kid,“ Dr. Schaub said.
After two years of recovery, Elena began playing softball again last year.
"Every time she hits the ball, it’s that feeling that I have of how proud of her I am," Pamela said.
Elena has one surgery left to deal with some of the scars.
“I’m not going to give up, and I’m going to keep being positive and just go with it,” Elena said.
This summer, she will be part of the softball league's all-star team.
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