Every Australian knows Sophie Delezio’s name: the little girl who was nearly killed when a burning car crashed through the wall of her northern beaches childcare centre, landing directly on top of her.
Sophie suffered third-degree burns to most of her body and lost both her feet and one hand in the incident.
Then, tragedy struck a second time when she was hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing when she was five years old.
But fast forward more than a decade and Sophie has a remarkably positive outlook on life. Now 17 years old (the above photo is from 2008) and a proud P-plater, she told TODAY that she’s looking forward to finishing high school.
“I’m currently completing Year 12, and I am still rowing, and acting, and just trying to get through this year,” Sophie says.
“Each surgery I have makes it easier for me to move and do certain things so, just kind of that attitude of ‘just get through this so you can do this.’”
“Knowing that I can’t change who I am, I just have to push through and get on with life,” she adds.
After her first accident, Sophie’s parents, Ron and Carolyn Delezio, founded charity A Day Of Difference, which is dedicated to supporting the families of critically injured children, as well as the hospitals that treat them and critical injury research.
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