User:Jnmornout/Rare USI Inspiration Award given

May 20, 2014 news

On Monday, April 22, 2014, Sarah Goffinet, now 20-year-old survivor of a severe automobile accident in November, was presented the unique University of Southern Indiana Inspiration Award at the university’s Annual All Sports Banquet.

The accident
On November 1, 2013, Sarah Goffinet, a sophomore cross country and track runner at the University of Southern Indiana, was in an near-death car crash as she hit a flatbed truck hauling a bulldozer head-on while following her mother, Darla Goffinet, home to Tell City, Indiana from Evansville, Indiana. The car went up in flames and Sarah was trapped inside. Her mother and other neighbors were able to put the fire out, and after an hour and a half, officials were able to cut her out of the car and fly her to the E.R. at St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. Later that night, the Goffinet family was told Sarah might not survive surgery, and if she did, they more than likely would have to amputate her legs. Miraculously, Sarah survived the night and after spending five hours in surgery the night of her accident, the doctors managed to save both of her legs.

Despite her amazing survival, Sarah suffered a few broken ribs, a broken left arm, compound fractures in her right femur and tibia, two punctured lungs, a lacerated spleen, and a completely blown left PCL and ACL, leaving essentially no knee cap. Sarah had three surgeries in the first three days she stayed in the hospital in order to put metal rods in her right leg compound fractures as well as to heal her broken arm. She has since battled months of extended hospital visits and physical therapy to continue her healing process. She has had two additional surgeries since the weekend of her wreck and expects to have two more in 2014.

Inspiration Award
Jon Mark Hall, the Director of Athletics at USI, presented Sarah with the Inspiration Award. While showing footage of Sarah's physical therapy after the wreck, Hall explained to the crowd what obstacles Sarah has faced and how her family has dealt with this life-changing experience in the last six months. He also announced this award was very rare, and has only been given twice in the last eleven years.

“We save the award for something that we feel is extraordinary and deserves recognition. There are no set criteria at all,” Hall said in an interview with Wikinews. “We have given this award two times in the past. Once was to Dusty Jourdan, a baseball player who was battling a rare disease and Tara Wiley, a women’s golfer who had partial sight in one eye due to an accident as a child.”



The Goffinet family was grateful that Sarah received such a prestigious award and felt that though it has been a traumatic experience, the accident has inspired others to celebrate their daily lives.

"Our family was overwhelmed and honored that Sarah received the USI Inspiration Award at last evening’s Athletic Banquet," Darla Goffinet said. "Sarah’s story has been an inspiration to so many. All of us take the simple, everyday activities for granted. Sarah has gotten people to realize that we should appreciate the simple things like getting out of bed, walking across the floor, or kneeling down to tie our shoes. She has inspired people by working through constant pain, overcoming unbelievable odds, and fighting every single day of her life."

Sarah herself was shocked by the attention and love from the university athletic department.

"I feel honored because I didn’t know how much this really meant to everyone until I won the award and felt surrounded by so many people that were special to me," Sarah said. "It felt like they have been getting me through this all along."